History of Dublin 1923 – 1965: Dublin remained an elegant but somewhat impoverished city - the capital of a state which, in stages, severed its last links with the British Empire in the 1930s and 1940s and became a republic in 1949. Ireland's 1st Taoiseach (or Prime Minister) Eamon de Valera kept the state - renamed Éire in 1937 - out of WW2. Incidentally, Ireland's first leader, or President of the Executive Council, was WT Cosgrave (1922-32).
1965 – 1991: A long era of peace, with trade agreements with Britain in 1965 and the joining of the Common Market in 1973 heralding spectacular – if uneven – city growth. In 1963, four months before his assassination, President Kennedy visited Ireland. In 1979 Pope John Paul ll - the first reigning Pope to visit Ireland - celebrated mass in front of one million people at Phoenix Park. In 1985 the Irish and British governments signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement giving the Republic of Ireland a consultative role in the NI government. In 1988 Dublin celebrated its Millennium and became European Capital of Culture in 1991.
1990s-present: From the 1990s, the Celtic Tiger economy boomed and many ex-pats – or Irish Diaspora – returned home. House prices vied with those in London, and international music success, from Ireland’s 7th Eurovision Song Contest win (and the birth of Riverdance) to the global domination of rock band U2, further cemented Ireland's new culture of cool. In 1990Mary Robinson became the first female President of Ireland and was succeeded in1997 by current President, Belfast-born Mary McAleese. The feel-good factor spread into sport; back in 1987, cyclist Stephen Roche had won the Tour De France, Ireland beat Italy in the 1994 US World Cup Finals and runner Sonia O'Sullivan won World Championship gold in1995 and Olympic silver in 2000. In 2002 the Euro replaced the Punt as Ireland's currency. (Source: Dr. Jonathan Bardon OBE)
Craig Ferguson
WrestleMania and Ireland
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