In 1973, Ireland was an outlier in Western Europe. Far behind other EEC members in economic terms; the sole non-NATO member among the 9; socially, far more conservative. The others were sceptical of 🇮🇪’s membership credentials. They accepted us primarily as a UK add-on.
That 1978 decision to join EMS was a brave one in view of the importance of 🇬🇧 for our exports. It set a pattern of opting to take the European path whenever a choice needed to be made. Over the years, our economic dependence on UK has declined although it remains a vital market
