Over the 1990s the Irish economy experienced unprecedented growth, and was nicknamed the "Celtic Tiger". This volume challenges the largely positive interpretation of Ireland's changing social order. It identifies ways in which culture and society have been made subservient to the market.

Over the 1990s the Irish economy experienced a period of unprecedented growth which has earned it the title "Celtic Tiger". This success has been interpreted by academic commentators as marking a social and cultural transformation, what some have called the reinvention of Ireland. The essays in this volume challenge the largely positive interpretation of Ireland's changing social order. It identifies the ways in which culture and society have been made subservient to the needs of the market in this neo-liberal Ireland. It draws on subversive strands in Irish history and offers a broader and more robust understanding of culture as a site of resistance to the dominant social order and as a political means to fashion an alternative future.

The reinvention of Ireland - a critical perspective, Peadar Kirby et al. Part 1 Economy and society: contested pedigrees of the Celtic tiger, Peader Kirby
culture and state in Ireland's new economy, Michel Peillon
speed limits - Ireland, globalization and the war against time, Michael Cronin. Part 2 Public spaces: citizenship and education - a crisis of the Republic?, Joseph Dunne
the global cure - history, therapy and the Celtic tiger, Luke Gibbons. Part 3 Historical legacies: colonialism and the Celtic tiger - legacies of history and the quest for vision, Geraldine Moane
religion and the Celtic tiger - the cultural legacies of anti-Catholicism in Ireland, Lionel Pilkington. Part 4 Media: the Celtic tiger's media pundits, Barra O. Seaghdha
broadcasting and the Celtic tiger - from promise to practice, Roddy Flynn
screening the green - cinema under the Celtic tiger, Debbie Ging
conclusion and transformations, Peader Kirby et al.