Ireland has come a long way in recent decades; it has, in a sense, emigrated from the past shared by those who left this country in years gone by and those who stayed. The first theme I want to discuss is that of going backwards. It is an option that makes no sense. Ireland's transition has brought us opportunities that were presented to earlier generations of Irishmen and Irishwomen only when they took an emigrant's boat and a job abroad. The transition to which I refer is particularly marked if we look at our economic performance. Ireland became politically independent in the 1920s and the new Government's first task was to try to establish the institutions of the new State, while asserting its space in the wider world. This task was achieved with aplomb and considerable success. While a policy of trying to build up infant industry behind protective barriers was appropriate during the great depression of the 1930s, that era eventually passed and such a policy came to be seen as wholly inappropriate to new circumstances.