Joining the European Economic Community was not singular in its change as it was more complex. It alone was not the only force of change, it was also indispensable as an agent of change and in its pulling power to bring us to where we are today. It is my contention that the most creative act of sovereign independence exercised by the people politically in the 20th century was to add real value to our small State's influence by choosing to connect to the great project of European integration and the family of democratic nations which constitute today's Europe of values. Joining the EEC in a certain way, economically at least, was Ireland's second declaration of independence in the 20th century. We have understood from this one core thing about us as a people on an island: intelligent interdependence serves us well. It has replaced isolationism as the leit motif of public policy that has led to change and success. Happily, the people when called upon in the 1970s and subsequently in other referenda to ignore this connection and continue with a deep frozen sense of 19th century style sovereignty isolated and in some sense purist but in fact stale and unsuccessful did not do so. We ignored those silent voices previously because they were wrong and we should ignore them again.