Introduction

The post-war world has witnessed prodigious social and economic developments. As Parker (1989, p.237) has noted, ‘society has changed perhaps more rapidly in the last quarter century than at any other time in history.’ Inhabitants of the developed nations now enjoy a considerably greater amount of leisure time and disposable income than previous generations. Technological innovations such as the motor car and the aeroplane now permit a larger degree of access to peripheral environments which were formerly the exclusive haunts of social elites.

The Republic of Ireland has been influenced greatly by advancements in the domain of leisure and recreation. Visitors now flock to the island on an annual basis in order to sample its unique cultural and aesthetic appeals. Crawley (2003, p.332) has emphasised that ‘tourism is a growing economic tool in Ireland’ and by the mid 1990s was generating £2.18 billion (Hall and Page, p.198).

The Development of the Irish Economy

Many commentators have made reference in recent years to the Irish economical ‘miracle’ and the development of the ‘Celtic Tiger’. The accession of the Republic of Ireland to the European Common Market in 1973 brought considerable advantages such as ‘access to a wider market’ and the ‘opportunity to diversify away from the UK market’ (OECD, 2006, p.24). EU funding and subsidisation also allowed the Irish to develop their infrastructure and modernise their agricultural sector.