ABSTRACT
The swift modernisation experienced by the European nations, the United States and the Japanese in the wake of the Second World War largely passed Ireland by. Although the country received some Marshall Aid, the continued dominance of the inward-looking, regressive alliance of Church and State delayed its abandonment of fiscal and cultural protectionism until the end of the 1950s. Emigration ensured that energy and ambition were rewarded with a ticket to America, Australia or Great Britain.
