ireland’s advice is very simple: make high school and college education free; make your corporate taxes low, simple and transparent; actively seek out global companies; open your economy to competition; speak english; keep your fiscal house in order; and build a consensus around the whole package with labor and management – then hang in there, because there will be bumps in the road – and you, too, can become one of the richest countries in europe. “it wasn’t a miracle, we didn’t find gold,” said mary harney. “it was the right domestic policies and embracing globalization.”

thanks mary for your vision. it has to be the rosiest painted article ever written about ireland over the last two decades. bertie should frame it on his wall. muppets.