IN 1845, BEFORE THE POTATO FAMINE DECIMATED ITS POPULATION, IRELAND WAS WESTERN 
EUROPE'S MOST DENSELY SETTLED COUNTRY ; SINCE THEN, ITS 9,000,000 INHABITANTS 
HAVE DWINDLED TO 2,824,000 . IRELAND IS THE ONLY NATION IN 
EUROPE WHOSE POPULATION HAS SHRUNK IN THAT TIME . WHILE IRISHMEN 
LEFT THE COUNTRY IN WAVES, THEY ENTERED IT IN A TRICKLE, 
FOR IRELAND HAS THE LOWEST MARRIAGE RATE, AND ONE OF THE 
LOWEST BIRTH RATES, IN ALL EUROPE . TO THE NEO-MALTHUSIAN, THE 
IRISH WOULD SEEM MODELS OF ECOLOGICAL BALANCE . IN A COUNTRY 
WHERE FOOD PRODUCTION IS BARELY INCREASING, 66 PER CENT OF ALL 
IRISH MALES BETWEEN 20 AND 39 ARE BACHELORS, AND VAST NUMBERS 
OF MEN AND WOMEN DIE SINGLE . / HOLY IRELAND . 
" THE EXODUS FROM IRELAND, WHICH NOVELIST GEORGE MOORE IRONICALLY JUSTIFIED 
BY CALLING IRELAND " A FATAL DISEASE " FROM WHICH / 
IT IS THE PLAIN DUTY OF EVERY IRISHMAN TO DISSOCIATE HIMSELF, 
" CONTINUED AFTER THE COUNTRY WON ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN IN 
1921 . AS IN MOST OTHER NEWLY LIBERATED COUNTRIES, THE MEN 
WHO TOOK OVER WERE ROMANTIC REVOLUTIONARY HEROES, STEEPED IN THE OTHERWORLD 
BUT ILL PREPARED BY EXPERIENCE TO MEET THE PRACTICAL CHALLENGES OF 
BUILDING A MODERN NATION . " WHEN DRAKE WAS WINNING SEAS 
FOR ENGLAND, " IN POET PATRICK KAVANAGH'S RUEFUL LINES, AILED IN 
PUDDLES OF THE PAST . " FOR THE MOST PART, IRELAND'S 
POSTLIBERATION POLITICIANS AND INTELLECTUALS SEEMED DETERMINED TO IGNORE THE SEAS FOR 
THE PUDDLES . FOR YEARS THEY KEPT UP THE STRIDENT OUTCRY 
OVER PARTITION AND WINKED AT ENDLESS, SQUALID RAIDS ON THE ULSTER 
BORDER . IRELAND, AFTER ALL, WAS A DIVIDED COUNTRY FOR DECADES 
BEFORE SUCH LATECOMERS TO PARTITION AS GERMANY, KOREA AND VIET NAM 
. IN MANY REFRESHING WAYS, THE LAND HAS REMAINED TRUE TO 
ITS LEADERS' VISION OF A PASTORAL " HOLY IRELAND . " 
THE IRISH SPEND ONLY ONE-FIFTH AS MUCH YEARLY ($8,000,000) FOR DEFENSE 
AS NEW YORKERS PAY EACH YEAR FOR GARBAGE COLLECTION . THEY 
DO NOT SUPPORT A SINGLE SUPERHIGHWAY, NIGHTCLUB, PARKING METER, STRIP JOINT 
OR SUBWAY . THE SUICIDE RATE IS EUROPE'S LOWEST . CRIMES 
OF ANY KIND ARE FEW AND GETTING FEWER ALTHOUGH THE AUTHORITIES 
ADMIT THAT THE NATION'S COMMONEST TRANSGRESSION, LARCENY OF PEDAL CYCLES, BEARS 
WATCHING . PORTHER & SHAMROCK . IN ECONOMIC TERMS, IRELAND'S INSULAR 
IDEAL PROVED DISASTROUS . TRUE TO THE AIMS OF THE SINN 
FEIN (OURSELVES ALONE) MOVEMENT, THE GOVERNMENT IN THE '30S DISCOURAGED FOREIGN 
INVESTMENT IN IRELAND, RAISED SOME OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST TARIFF BARRIERS 
TO EXCLUDE BRITISH GOODS AND PROTECT NEW, HIGHLY INEFFICIENT DOMESTIC INDUSTRY 
. THE RESULT OF ITS BELT TIGHTENING WAS A RISING TIDE 
OF EMIGRANTS THAT BY 1956 REACHED 600,000, HIGHEST SINCE THE 1890S 
. AMONG THOSE WHO STAYED ON, THERE WAS A PARALYZING SENSE 
OF FRUSTRATION AND FATALISM . LIFE WAS NOT ONLY HARD IT 
WAS DULL . TO MANY IRISHMEN, THE PERVERSE, PERVASIVE MEDIOCRITY OF 
THEIR CULTURE WAS TYPIFIED BY GAELIC-WORSHIP . THE DYING GAELIC TONGUE 
HAD BECOME THE BADGE OF IRISH NATIONALISM DURING THE REVOLUTION THOUGH 
FEW OF ITS LEADERS COULD SPEAK IT . EVEN BEFORE 1949, 
WHEN THE REPUBLIC OF EIRE WAS ESTABLISHED, THE GOVERNMENT HAD MADE 
GAELIC LANGUAGE STUDY COMPULSORY IN THE SCHOOLS, EVEN ENCOURAGED STUDENTS TO 
TAKE OTHER SUBJECTS ENTIRELY IN GAELIC . INDUSTRIAL BOOM, FED BY 
FOREIGN INVESTMENT, IS ILLUSTRATED BY VOLKSWAGENS FLOWING ON A BUSY DUBLIN 
ASSEMBLY LINE . MINING TOOLS, INCLUDING DRILLS WITH SYNTHETIC-DIAMOND TIPS, ARE 
MADE IN SOUTH-AFRICAN-OWNED SHANNON PLANT . PIANOS FOR DUTCH FIRM ARE 
STRUNG AND FITTED BY SKILLED IRISH CRAFTSMEN IN SHANNON . DRIED 
CARROTS, RAPIDLY FROZEN FOR FLAVOR, GET CAREFUL CHECK BY COUNTY CORK 
COLLEENS . EXPORT BUSINESS IS IRELAND'S FIRST ATTEMPT TO CUT INTO 
WORLD'S FROZEN-FOOD MARKET . NEW PLANTS AND HOUSING MAKE SHANNON NATION'S 
THRIVING COMMERCIAL CENTER . THE INDUSTRIAL PARK AT AIRPORT OFFERS FOREIGN 
BUSINESSES TAX CUTS AND FREEDOM FROM DUTY . CARGO OF STOUT 
IS LOADED ABOARD GUINNESS BREWERY SHIP BOUND FOR LIVERPOOL . DUBLIN 
CUSTOM HOUSE DOMINATES RIVER LIFFEY SCENE, WITH NEW BUS STATION IN 
BACKGROUND . SPORTING EVENTS FIND IRISHMEN IN THEIR ELEMENT, HERE PACKING 
STANDS TO CHEER FAST FIELD AT DUBLIN'S BALDOYLE TRACK . PREOCCUPATION 
WITH HORSERACING MAKES LEGALIZED BETTING $59 MILLION ANNUAL BUSINESS FOX HUNTING 
IN IRISH MANNER CALLS FOR KENNEL OF HIGHLY TRAINED HOUNDS . 
FIRST-RATE PACK, OWNED BY LORD DARESBURY, SURROUNDS MASTER AT EXERCISE TIME 
ON HIS COUNTY LIMERICK ESTATE . IRELAND'S HUNTING IS WELL-KNOWN FOR 
ITS RUGGED PACE . FOOTBALL, PLAYED ROUGH AND TOUGH, IS ANOTHER 
FAVORITE IRISH SPORT . THIS TUSSLE IS AN AMATEUR MATCH IN 
DUBLIN . GOLF ON PORTMARNOCK LINKS ON IRISH SEA GIVES PLAYER 
CONSTANT CHALLENGE OF STIFF SEA BREEZE . CHAMPIONSHIP GREEN, ONE OF 
206 IN NATION, HAS BEEN CALLED BEST IN WORLD BY ARNOLD 
PALMER . AMERICAN ARTIST MORRIS GRAVES FLED WEST COAST SUCCESS FOR 
MORE LEISURELY AND CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE HE FOUND IN DUBLIN . DIRECTOR 
JOHN HUSTON, ANOTHER FAMED U.S . EXPATRIATE, SPENDS TIME OFF FROM 
FILMS AS SQUIRE ON HIS GALWAY ESTATE . ENTREPRENEUR BRENDAN O'REGAN 
COMBINES JOB AS HEAD OF IRISH TOURIST OFFICE WITH PROMOTING SHANNON'S 
INDUSTRIAL PARK . AUTHOR FRANK O'CONNOR BRINGS TO READERS A REAL 
GLIMPSE OF IRISH LIFE IN MASTERFUL SHORT STORIES . THE PEOPLE, 
ONCE IRELAND'S MOST FAMOUS EXPORT, NOW ARE MORE INCLINED TO STAY 
AT HOME AS COUNTRY STRIVES TO REVITALIZE . THIS GALLERY OF 
IRISH FACES IS FROM A SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL CROWD IN DUBLIN 
. PAINTER PATRICK SCOTT, WELL-KNOWN DUBLIN ABSTRACT ARTIST, POSES BEFORE HIS 
SOLAR DEVICE, TEMPERA WORK ON LINEN CANVAS . ARCHITECT MICHAEL SCOTT, 
HERE BEFORE HIS GLASS-SHEATHED TV CENTER, PLANS EVERYTHING FROM NEW ABBEY 
THEATER TO HOSPITALS . DESIGNER SYBIL CONNOLLY BRINGS LOVE OF IRISH 
FABRICS TO FASHION WORLD, SPECIALIZES IN USE OF LACE, LINEN AND 
TWEED . AFTER THE LONG EMOTIONAL EXCITEMENT OF THE FIGHT FOR 
INDEPENDENCE, IRELAND IN THE POSTWAR YEARS SEEMED TO BE HIBERNATING, CAUGHT 
IN A DESCENDING SPIRAL OF CYNICISM AND FECKLESS NOSTALGIA . ITS 
MALAISE WAS EXPRESSED BY PLAYWRIGHT SEAN O'CASEY : " SOMEONE OR 
SOMETHING IS RUINING US . WHAT DO WE SEND OUT TO 
THE WORLD NOW BUT WOEFUL THINGS YOUNG LADS AND LASSIES, PORTHER, 
GREYHOUNDS, SWEEP TICKETS, AND THE SHAMROCK GREEN ? WE'VE SCATTHERED OURSELVES 
OVER THE WIDE WORLD, AND LEFT OUR OWN SWEET LAND THIN 
. WE'RE JUST STANDING ON OUR KNEES NOW . " BLOODY 
BALUBA . TODAY THE IRISH ARE BEGINNING TO STAND ON THEIR 
FEET . IN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITIES AND PUBS, THERE IS 
A NEW SENSE OF PURPOSE AND PUSH, A MOUNTING AWARENESS THAT 
IRELAND HAS FINALLY BEGUN TO MAKE ITS WAY IN THE WORLD 
. AFTER FOUR DECADES OF BROODY ISOLATION, AND SEEMINGLY PRO-GERMAN NEUTRALITY 
IN WORLD WAR II (ALTHOUGH IN THEIR CONTRARY WAY, MANY IRISH 
VOLUNTEERED FOR THE BRITISH ARMY), A NEWLY OUTWARD-LOOKING IRELAND HAS ACQUIRED 
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE OUT OF ALL PROPORTION TO ITS SIZE OR POLITICAL 
POWER . IN THE UNITED NATIONS, THE NONALIGNED IRISH LED BY 
AMBASSADOR FREDERICK BOLAND, WHO WAS PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN 
THE TIME OF KHRUSHCHEV'S SHOE-BANGING TANTRUM ARE UNIVERSALLY RESPECTED . IN 
THE CONGO, WHERE 5,000 IRISH TROOPS HAVE SERVED AND 26 DIED 
WITH THE U.N . PEACEKEEPING MISSION, THEIR PROBITY AND DISCIPLINE COMMAND 
THE ADMIRATION OF AFRICANS AND BELGIANS ALIKE . THE EXPERIENCE HAS 
ADDED A NEW TERM OF ABUSE TO THE IRISHMAN'S COPIOUS VOCABULARY 
OF INVECTIVE : " YOU BLOODY BALUBA ! " THE U.N 
. IRISH HAVE TAUGHT MANY A NATIVE TO DANCE A JIG 
. SAYS A CAPTAIN FROM CORK : / ONLY THE IRISH 
AND OTHER HEATHENS CAN APPRECIATE OUR DAHLING PIPES . / TWO-WAY 
BRIDGE . AS THE MAN WHO HAS DONE MOST TO END 
HIS COUNTRY'S LONG SLEEP, SEAN LEMASS GOT HIS CHANCE WHEN HE 
TOOK OVER AS TAOISEACH IN 1959 . DE VALERA, NEAR-BLIND AND 
DOGGEDLY INDIFFERENT TO THE COUNTRY'S WORSENING ECONOMIC PLIGHT, WAS PERSUADED BY 
HIS OWN FIANNA FAIL PARTY TO STEP ASIDE FOR LEMASS AND 
RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY . HIS SUCCESSOR, AFTER 19 YEARS AS 
MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, WAS PASSIONATELY CONVINCED THAT IRELAND'S TIMOROUS 
PROTECTIONISM COULD ONLY LEAD TO NATIONAL EXTINCTION . AS FIANNA FAIL'S 
NEW LEADER, LEMASS WAS THE ANTITHESIS OF ALL THE OLD FIRE-BREATHING 
HEROES, TALKED TRADE AND TARIFFS TO THE VOTERS IN INTENSE, RAPID-FIRE 
SENTENCES THAT MANY FOUND HARD TO FOLLOW . " THAT LEMASS 
! " SNORTED ONE DUBIOUS DUBLIN POLITICIAN . " HE COULDN'T 
LEAD IRELAND OVER O'CONNELL BRIDGE . " WHAT SEAN LEMASS WANTED 
MOST WAS TO LURE FOREIGN INVESTORS OVER O'CONNELL BRIDGE . THE 
NEW PRIME MINISTER SENT BLARNEY-BLESSED SALESMEN AROUND THE WORLD PERSUADING FOREIGN 
INDUSTRIES TO SET UP PLANTS IN IRELAND . THEY OFFERED ONE 
OF THE FEW LABOR SURPLUSES IN ALL EUROPE, LIBERAL GRANTS FOR 
EQUIPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION, AND ADDITIONAL CASH TO COMPANIES THAT WOULD BUILD 
PLANTS AND TRAIN WORKERS IN IRELAND'S PINCHED NORTHWEST AND SOUTH . 
A TRIBE IN NORTH KATANGA THAT AMBUSHED AN IRISH CONTINGENT IN 
!960, KILLING TEN OF ITS SOLDIERS . MANY IRISHMEN WERE PROFANELY 
SKEPTICAL, BUT THE PROGRAM SO FAR HAS PROVED A GALLIVANTING SUCCESS 
. IRELAND TODAY IS IN THE THROES OF A BELATED INDUSTRIAL 
REVOLUTION THAT IS BOOSTING LIVING STANDARDS, DIVERSIFYING ITS FARM-BASED ECONOMY, AND 
WILL INCREASINGLY ABSORB THE TALENTS THAT THE NATION BREEDS . SINCE 
1955, 160 NEW IRISH AND FOREIGN-BACKED PLANTS HAVE CREATED 21,000 NEW 
JOBS AND ARE TURNING OUT GOODS RANGING FROM TRANSISTOR RADIOS (JAPANESE) 
AND PIANOS (DUTCH) TO HEAVY CRANES FOR A GERMAN COMPANY AND 
OIL HEATERS FOR A FRENCH FIRM . FIFTY MORE PLANTS ARE 
NEARING COMPLETION, MOST NOTABLY A FRENCH-OWNED AVIATION FACTORY TO TURN OUT 
A NEW, SHORT-HAUL PLANE AIMED SPECIFICALLY AT U.S . FEEDER AIRLINES 
. THE SHINY NEW PLANTS IN SHANNON, CORK, LIMERICK, DUBLIN AND 
KILLARNEY ( " JUST LIKE THE BLACK FOREST, " SAYS A 
WEST GERMAN INDUSTRIALIST WHO HAS BUILT A FACTORY THERE) HAVE WORKED 
NO ECONOMIC MIRACLE IN IRELAND TO COMPARE WITH EUROPE'S BOOM . 
BUT INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION HAS RISEN 20 PER CENT IN THREE YEARS 
. AND ITS SUCCESS IS STANCHING THE POPULATION OUTFLOW : FROM 
AN AVERAGE OF 43,000 A YEAR, THE NUMBER OF EMIGRANTS DROPPED 
BY MORE THAN 50 PER CENT LAST YEAR, IS EXPECTED TO 
TOTAL ONLY 14,000 IN 1963 . MANY EMIGRANTS ARE NOW RETURNING 
TO TAKE JOBS BACK HOME . FOUR RS . TODAY'S EXPANSION 
WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE IF SEAN LEMASS HAD NOT STARTED 
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK LONG AGO . LEMASS IS THE GREAT-GRANDSON OF 
A HATTER WHO LANDED IN DUBLIN IN 1820 . A YOUNG-APPEARING 
63, HE IS BY AGE, IF NOT BY POLITICAL STYLE, A 
MEMBER OF THE GENERATION THAT FREED IRELAND AND HAS RULED IT 
EVER SINCE . AT SCHOOL, HE LEARNED HIS FOUR RS IN 
THE DUBLIN OF 50 YEARS AGO, REVOLUTION WAS PART OF THE 
CURRICULUM AND BY THE AGE OF 14 HAD JOINED THE REPUBLICAN 
NA FIANNA EIREANN, A SORT OF BOY SCOUT UNDERGROUND . TWO 
YEARS LATER, WHEN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY OCCUPIED THE DUBLIN POST 
OFFICE AT THE START OF THE BOTCHED 1916 EASTER WEEK RISING, 
SEAN WAS THE YOUNGEST REBEL OF THEM ALL, SPENT FOUR DAYS 
ON THE ROOF WITH A RIFLE, WAITING FOR THE BRITISH TO 
MOUNT AN OLD-FASHIONED INFANTRY CHARGE . HE SAYS WRYLY : " 
I'M AFRAID WE HAD RATHER NAIVE IDEAS ABOUT MODERN WARFARE . 
" WHEN BRITISH SHELLS ENDED THE FIASCO, 15 IRISH LEADERS WERE 
SHOT . YOUNG LEMASS WAS TAKEN PRISONER AND RELEASED WITHIN A 
MONTH, PRESUMABLY BECAUSE OF HIS AGE . ACCORDING TO CHERISHED, IF 
APOCRYPHAL DUBLIN LEGEND, " THE COPS GAVE A KICK IN THE 
ARSE AND TOLD HIM TO GO HOME TO HIS MOM . 
" POOR RISK . BUT IN THE TURBULENT YEARS WHEN THE 
IRISH REBELS FOUGHT AGAINST BRITAIN'S BLACK AND TANS, SEAN LEMASS GREW 
INTO A RUGGED GUERRILLA FIGHTER IN THE I.R.A.'S DUBLIN BRIGADE . 
HE WAS JAILED BY THE ENGLISH FOUR TIMES, ESCAPED ONCE . 
AFTER THE 1921 TREATY, BY WHICH BRITAIN CREATED THE SELF-GOVERNING IRISH 
FREE STATE BUT RETAINED JURISDICTION OVER THE SIX PROTESTANT COUNTIES OF 
ULSTER, CIVIL WAR FLARED BETWEEN " PRO-TREATY " IRISHMEN AND DE 
VALERA'S FOLLOWERS, WHO CRIED THAT IRELAND COULD NOT ACCEPT PARTITION . 
LEMASS, AN OFFICER ON DE VALERA'S STAFF, WAS CAPTURED BY THE 
OTHER SIDE AND IMPRISONED FOR A YEAR . IN JAIL HE 
CONTINUED HIS WAR-SHATTERED EDUCATION WITH A CRAM COURSE IN ECONOMICS, POLITICS 
AND IRISH REVOLUTIONARY WRITINGS . THOUGH HE NEVER RETURNED TO PRISON 
AFTER HIS RELEASE IN 1923, FOUR-TIME LOSER LEMASS WAS PLAINLY A 
POOR MATRIMONIAL RISK . WHEN HE STARTED COURTING PRETTY, VIVACIOUS KATHLEEN 
HUGHES, HE HAD THE ADDED DISADVANTAGES OF HAVING TO PLACATE HER 
FATHER, A DUBLIN CARPENTER AND AN ANGLOPHILE . HE WARNED HIS 
DAUGHTER : " THAT BOY IS ALWAYS ON THE RUN ; 
HE'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO MAKE A HOME FOR YOU . 
" KATHLEEN DECIDED TO RISK IT ANYWAY . THEY WERE MARRIED 
IN 1924, HAVE A SON NOEL, WHO IS A MEMBER OF 
PARLIAMENT, AND THREE DAUGHTERS (THE ELDEST, MAUREEN, IS MARRIED TO CHARLES 
HAUGHEY, THE SHREWD, HARD-KNUCKLED MINISTER OF JUSTICE, WHO IS TIPPED AS 
A POTENTIAL PRIME MINISTER) . LEMASS' BOLD PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIALIZATION HAS 
ALREADY CREATED NEW JOBS AND WEALTH IN AN ECONOMY WHOSE PRIMARY 
PRODUCT, BEEF FOR BRITAIN, HAS BEEN THE SAME FOR AS LONG 
AS THERE HAVE BEEN POTATOES TO GO WITH IT . AS 
NEW OPPORTUNITY AT HOME LOWERS THE PERILOUSLY HIGH EMIGRATION RATE, THE 
GOVERNMENT IS FINALLY BEGINNING TO REBUT THE BITTER QUIP THAT IRELAND 
IS " A HOME FOR MEN RATHER THAN A BREEDING GROUND 
FOR EMIGRANTS AND BULLOCKS . " THE COUNTRY'S RAPTUROUS HUZZAS FOR 
JOHN KENNEDY WERE MORE THAN AN EXPRESSION OF PRIDE IN A 
GAEL MADE GOOD TO MANY YOUNG IRISHMEN, HE SEEMS MORE REAL 
THAN THE IRISH MARTYRS WHOSE STREAKED STATUES FILL DUBLIN'S PARKS WITH 
SILENT DECLAMATION . JACK'S HOMECOMING EPITOMIZED TO THE IRISH THE SUCCESSFUL 
DISTANCE THEY THEMSELVES HAVE TRAVELED . SPANGLISH & SPELLS . HOWEVER 
FAR THEY MAY GO, THE IRISH RETAIN A DEEP SENSE OF 
THEIR PAST AND THE MYTHS AND MEMORIES THAT CROWD THEIR WILD, 
LONELY LAND . " THE GODS WHISTLE IN THE AIR, " 
WROTE SEAN O'FAOLAIN . " THE OTHERWORLD IS ALWAYS AT ONE'S 
SHOULDER . " THE OTHERWORLD AND THE REAL PAST ARE INSEPARABLY 
BOUND TOGETHER IN THE IRISH IMAGINATION AND IN THE RUNIC PLACE 
NAMES, FROM THE PAGAN LANDMARK CALLED TWO BREASTS OF DANA TO 
ANCIENT WATERFORD, WHERE IN 1170 STRONGBOW, THE NORMAN EARL OF PEMBROKE, 
CLAMPED 7F CENTURIES OF ENGLISH RULE ON IRELAND . WHAT THE 
MISTS OF LEGEND CANNOT OBSCURE IS THAT FOR AGES OF RELIGIOUS 
PERSECUTION AND ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION, THROUGH COUNTLESS RISINGS AND REPRISALS, THE IRISH 
SLAVED, STARVED AND BATTLED FOR THEIR LAND AS STUBBORNLY AS IF 
IRELAND ITSELF WERE THE ISLE OF THE BLEST . THE REMOTE 
LITTLE ISLAND IN THE ATLANTIC HAS CAST ITS SHADOW ACROSS THE 
CIVILIZED WORLD SINCE THE DARK AGES, WHEN IRISH PRIESTS AND SCHOLARS 
ROAMED EUROPE EXPOUNDING NEW (AND MOSTLY HERETICAL) THEOLOGIES . IN A 
DIASPORA EVEN GREATER THAN THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS, MORE THAN 
3,000,000 IRISHMEN IN THE PAST 100 YEARS HAVE SCATTERED ACROSS THE 
WORLD, FORMING WHAT AN IRISH WRITER CALLS " ONE OF THE 
WORLD'S GREAT SECRET SOCIETIES, WITH BRANCHES EVERYWHERE " THOUGH THE SOCIETY 
WAS NEVER VERY SECRET . EVERYONE HAS HIS OWN LIST OF 
GREAT IRISHMEN, BUT THERE IS NO DENYING THAT THE GIFTS OF 
THE IRISH HAVE ALWAYS ENRICHED OTHER COUNTRIES MORE THAN THEIR OWN 
. THEIR TALENT FOR POLITICS, FOR FAITH, ABOVE ALL FOR WORDS, 
GAVE MORE BRILLIANT POLITICIANS, DISTINGUISHED CHURCHMEN AND MAGICAL WRITERS TO THE 
U.S . AND THE REST OF THE WORLD THAN TO IRELAND 
. PERHAPS ONLY THEIR TALENT FOR FIGHTING, WHILE AMPLY EXPORTED, AS 
AMPLY REMAINED AT HOME . THOUGH IN FOREIGN LANDS, THEY INVINCIBLY 
STAYED THEMSELVES ; THEY ALSO SHOWED AN UNCANNY ABILITY TO ADAPT 
TO OTHER CULTURES, WHETHER IN LATIN AMERICA, WHERE THEY CONCOCTED A 
LILTING LINGUA FRANCA KNOWN AS SPANGLISH, OR DOWN UNDER, WHERE THEY 
DEVELOPED A SPECTACULAR SPORT KNOWN AS AUSTRALIAN RULES, A BLEND OF 
GAELIC FOOTBALL AND RUGBY . THOUGH THERE WAS HARDLY A COUNTRY 
OR A FIELD OF ENDEAVOR WHERE IRISHMEN FAILED TO MAKE A 
MARK OR A MINT, THE DIMINISHING NUMBER OF THEIR COMPATRIOTS AT 
HOME KEPT WONDERING FRETFULLY IF THEY WERE A VANISHING RACE . 
HEAT WITH PEAT . WHEN SINN FEIN BROKE APART, YOUNG LEMASS 
WAS THE CHIEF ARCHITECT OF DE VALERA'S NEW FIANNA FAIL (HEROES 
OF DESTINY) PARTY, WHICH CAME TO POWER IN 1932 AND HAS 
BEEN IN OFFICE ALMOST CONTINUALLY EVER SINCE . AT 32, LEMASS 
WAS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF DE VALERA'S CABINET AND EARNED THE 
AFFECTIONATE BIBLICAL SOBRIQUET " BENJAMIN " (AFTER JACOB'S YOUNGEST SON) . 
THOUGH DEV HAD TAUGHT MATHEMATICS AND IS FERVENTLY BELIEVED BY MANY 
FOND COMPATRIOTS TO BE ONE OF THE 13 MEN ON EARTH 
WHO COMPREHEND THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY THE TAOISEACH HAD NEITHER HEAD 
NOR HEART FOR ECONOMICS, AND LEFT BENJAMIN TO RUN HIS MINISTRY 
AS HE SAW FIT . LEMASS FACED MONUMENTAL PROBLEMS, FOR DURING 
THE '30S THE GOVERNMENT WAS LOCKED IN A VINDICTIVE, FUTILE ECONOMIC 
WAR WITH THE ENGLISH, THOUGH IT REMAINED ECONOMICALLY DEPENDENT ON BRITAIN 
. HE STROVE DESPERATELY TO MOBILIZE ENOUGH NEW INDUSTRY TO SUPPLY 
THE NATION'S BASIC NEEDS, THOUGH AT HIGH COST ; HE ALSO 
FOUNDED THE STATE TRANSPORT NETWORK AND ORGANIZED A NATIONAL MERCHANT MARINE 
IN TIME TO KEEP IRELAND FED DURING WORLD WAR II, IN 
WHICH HE TOOK ON THE ADDITIONAL JOB OF MINISTER OF SUPPLY, 
AND BY BRILLIANT IMPROVISATION AVERTED CRIPPLING SHORTAGES . UNTIL RECENTLY, IT 
WAS AXIOMATIC THAT " NOBODY BUT A FOOL WOULD INVEST " 
IN IRELAND . LEMASS DID NOT HESITATE TO USE PUBLIC FUNDS 
WHEREVER PRIVATE CAPITAL WAS NOT FORTHCOMING FOR KEY PROJECTS . HE 
TOOK OVER A ONE-HORSE POWER COMPANY AND BUILT IT INTO A 
NATIONWIDE NETWORK THAT HAS ELECTRIFIED 76 PER CENT OF ALL IRISH 
FARMS . THE COUNTRY HAD NO OIL AND LITTLE COAL, BUT 
LEMASS FOUND AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF INDUSTRIAL FUEL IN ITS PEAT 
BOGS, WHERE HUGE MACHINES NOW CUT TURF THAT A BUSY, STATE-OWNED 
PROCESSING PLANT TURNS INTO INEXPENSIVE, SLOWBURNING BRIQUETTES . AFTER A LONG 
POLITICAL WRANGLE, HE GOT IRELAND'S STATE-OWNED AIRLINE OFF THE GROUND, AND 
HAS WATCHED HAPPILY AS AER LINGUS' SHAMROCK-PAINTED PLANES HAVE MADE IT 
ONE OF THE FEW GOVERNMENT AIRLINES TO TURN A CONSISTENT PROFIT 
ON THE ATLANTIC RUN . THE VERY WORD SOCIALISM TERRIFIES FIANNA 
FAIL SUPPORTERS, WHO ARE NOT ONLY OVERWHELMINGLY CATHOLIC BUT INCLUDE MANY 
SMALL LANDOWNERS . YET ONE-THIRD OF ALL INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES IN IRELAND 
TODAY ARE BANKROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT, WHICH HAS GONE FARTHER TOWARD 
NATIONALIZATION THAN EVEN BRITAIN'S SOCIALISTS ADVOCATE . LEMASS SAYS HE SHARES 
THE ATTITUDE TOWARD SOCIALISM THAT WAS EXPRESSED IN THE LATE POPE 
JOHN'S ENCYCLICAL, PACEM IN TERRIS : THAT NO POLITICAL SYSTEM IS 
UNDESIRABLE IF IT BENEFITS THE PEOPLE . TRIM SAILS . IN 
1957, AFTER THEIR CHILDREN HAD GROWN UP, SEAN AND KATHLEEN LEMASS 
MOVED FROM THEIR BIG OLD HOUSE IN DUBLIN TO AN UNPRETENTIOUS 
SEVENROOM BUNGALOW IN A PLEASANT SUBURB SOUTH OF THE CAPITAL, WHERE 
THE PRIME MINISTER IS PICKED UP BY A GOVERNMENT CAR AT 
9 : 45 A.M . EACH DAY . HE SELDOM RETURNS 
UNTIL AFTER DINNER . SOME YEARS AGO, LEMASS CUT DOWN ON 
GOLF AND CARDS TO THE RELIEF OF OLD POKER CRONIES WHO 
USUALLY WOUND UP LOSERS WHEN LEMASS PLAYED TO DEVOTE MORE TIME 
TO THE JOB . STURDY (5 FT . 10 IN.) AND 
CAREFULLY GROOMED, HE HOLDS AMONG HIS FEW FOIBLES AN AVERSION TO 
THE BYRONIC MANES AFFECTED BY MANY IRISHMEN, AND HE DOES NOT 
HESITATE TO BARK AT FRIENDS, UNDERLINGS OR HIS SON WHEN THEY 
NEED HAIRCUTS . SOME POLITICIANS CRITICIZE LEMASS FOR BEING TOO MUCH 
OF A PRAGMATIST . " HE'S A BIT OF A FLY-BOY, 
" SAID LABOR PARTY LEADER JAMES LARKIN . " HE TRIMS 
HIS SAILS TO DIFFERENT WINDS . " THE GREATEST CHALLENGE THAT 
LEMASS HAS TO FACE AS A POLITICIAN IS TO REVITALIZE DRAB, 
UNIMAGINATIVE FIANNA FAIL, MANY OF WHOSE FRONT-BENCH HEROES OF DESTINY HAVE 
BEEN AROUND SINCE DEV FIRST CAME TO OFFICE . SEVEN OF 
THE 13 MEMBERS OF THE LEMASS CABINET ARE 60 OR UNDER, 
WHICH IS A RELATIVELY GREEN AGE IN IRISH POLITICS BUT HARDLY 
GREEN ENOUGH . THOUGH HE HAS LITTLE OF THE PERSONAL MAGNETISM 
OF OLD SPELLBINDER DEV, THE QUIET MAN'S DRIVE TO GET IRELAND 
INTO THE WORLD'S MARKETS AND FORUMS HAS ATTRACTED SOME OF THE 
BRIGHT, RESTIVE YOUNG IRISHMEN WHO ARE SHOWING A REVIVAL OF INTEREST 
IN POLITICS . TOTAL EFFORT . LEMASS' MOST BRUISING DISAPPOINTMENT IN 
OFFICE WAS CHARLES DE GAULLE'S REJECTION OF BRITISH MEMBERSHIP IN THE 
COMMON MARKET LAST YEAR . DETERMINED TO TAKE IRELAND INTO EUROPE 
ALONGSIDE BRITAIN, LEMASS HAD ALREADY STARTED WHITTLING TARIFF BARRIERS TO GIVE 
IRELAND'S OLDER AND MOST COSSETED INDUSTRIES A WHIFF OF THE COLD 
COMPETITIVE WIND OUTSIDE . TO CLEAR THE WAY FOR IRELAND'S ENTRY, 
WHICH HE NOW BELIEVES CANNOT COME BEFORE 1970, LEMASS HAS UNEQUIVOCALLY 
COMMITTED HIS NATION, WHICH HAS 9,000 MEN UNDER ARMS, TO SUPPORT 
OF NATO POLICIES . IN 1949, AT NATO'S FOUNDING,THE GOVERNMENT DECLINED 
MEMBERSHIP WITH THE LEGALISTIC ARGUMENT THAT TO JOIN AN ALLIANCE WITH 
BRITAIN WOULD BE TANTAMOUNT TO RECOGNITION OF ULSTER, WHOSE EXISTENCE THE 
REPUBLIC HAS NEVER ACCEPTED . TO LEMASS, BY CONTRAST, ONE OF 
THE MOST COMPELLING MOTIVES FOR SEEING BRITAIN AND IRELAND INSIDE THE 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY IS THE VERY PROSPECT THAT IRELAND WOULD THEREBY TAKE 
A STEP CLOSER TO REUNIFICATION . AUTOMATIC DISMANTLING OF THEIR MUTUAL 
TARIFF BARRIERS UNDER COMMON MARKET RULES, SAYS LEMASS, WOULD FINALLY NECESSITATE 
A DEGREE OF COOPERATION BETWEEN PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC IRELAND . INSTEAD 
OF THE PRESENT PROLONGED FARCE OF NONRECOGNITION NEITHER COUNTRY WILL EVEN 
PERMIT EXTRADITION OF CRIMINALS BY THE OTHER AND CONTINUED STAGNATION OF 
ULSTER'S ECONOMY, LEMASS FORESEES " A TOTAL NATIONAL EFFORT IN WHICH 
OLD DIFFERENCES AND ANIMOSITIES CAN BE FORGOTTEN . " ALL THE 
DETAILS . THE GOVERNMENT'S EAGERNESS TO RAISE IRELAND'S " GREEN CURTAIN, 
" AS LEMASS CALLS IT, REFLECTS A GROWING COSMOPOLITANISM IN THE 
UNIVERSITIES AND POPULATION CENTERS . THE IRISH HAVE MADE EXECUTIVES AND 
TECHNICIANS FROM MORE THAN A DOZEN COUNTRIES RESOUNDINGLY WELCOME . THEY 
CHEERED MIGHTILY FOR SCHOOLGIRL HARUMI SUZUKI, EIGHT-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF A JAPANESE 
PLANT MANAGER AT SHANNON, WHEN SHE CARRIED OFF FIRST AND THIRD 
PRIZES FOR IRISH POETRY AND GAELIC RECITATION . YOUNG IRELAND'S HORIZONS 
ARE BEING BROADENED BY THE FOREIGN STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN FLOCKING 
TO IRISH UNIVERSITIES, WHERE THEY COMPRISE NEARLY 17 PER CENT OF 
TOTAL ENROLLMENT ; MOST COME FROM AFRO-ASIAN COUNTRIES, WHERE THE DISTINCTIVE 
ACCENT OF EX-COLONIAL, NONALIGNED DUBLIN HAS BECOME SOMETHING OF A STATUS 
SYMBOL . THE VISITING STUDENTS, IN TURN, HAVE GENERATED NEW INTEREST 
IN LANGUAGE AND HISTORY COURSES AMONG THEIR IRISH FRIENDS . THE 
ULTRACONSERVATIVE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY STILL HEAVILY CENSORS THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT 
. AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, MANY OF THE BEST NATIVE 
AUTHORS HAVE BEEN BANNED FROM LIBRARIES, INCLUDING WORKS BY GEORGE MOORE, 
LIAM O'FLAHERTY, O'CASEY, FRANK O'CONNOR, SHAW, BRENDAN BEHAN . BUT THINGS 
ARE EASING UP A LITTLE . CINEMATIC SEX HAS BECOME SO 
MUCH SEXIER AND MORE FREQUENT, EXPLAINS JUSTICE MINISTER HAUGHEY, THAT THE 
CENSORS HAVE BEEN TOLD TO GO EASY WITH THE SCISSORS, " 
OR ELSE OUR CINEMAS WON'T GET ANY FILMS AT ALL . 
" ANOTHER SIGN OF THE NEW LIBERALITY IS A SCHEDULED VISIT 
BY THE BOLSHOI BALLET TO DUBLIN THIS MONTH, FOR IRISH MISTRUST 
OF THE INTRIGUOUS RUSSIANS IS SO KEEN THAT THEY HAVE YET 
TO RECOGNIZE THE 45-YEAR-OLD SOVIET GOVERNMENT . TELEVISION, WHICH NOW LIGHTS 
UP MORE THAN 200,000 SCREENS, IS A PERENNIAL ASSAULT ON GAELIC 
PURITANISM . IRELAND'S OWN STATION COMPETES WITH PROGRAMS BEAMED FROM BRITAIN 
THAT SEEM INCREDIBLY RISQUE TO IRISH VIEWERS ; THE BBC'S UNINHIBITED 
COVERAGE OF CHRISTINE KEELER'S EXPLOITS HAS EVEN JOGGED THE STODGY, SELF-CENSORING 
IRISH PRESS INTO GIVING READERS ALL THE DETAILS . MANY IRISHMEN, 
INCREASINGLY RESENTFUL OF CENSORSHIP, HAVE TAKEN TO SAMPLING CENSORED BOOKS, FILMS 
OR PLAYS BY TAKING THE 90-MINUTE FLIGHT TO LONDON WHERE FAR 
MORE HORRENDOUS TEMPTATIONS ABOUND . REBELS & MONARCHS . THE IRISH 
HAVE WRITTEN SOME OF THE TENDEREST LOVE LYRICS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, 
BUT IN THEIR ACTUAL CONTACT WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX, IRISHMEN SOMETIMES 
RESEMBLE COLOMBIA'S KOGI INDIANS, WHO, DESPISING WOMEN, SPEND ALL THEIR TIME 
DISCUSSING PHILOSOPHY WITH OTHER MALES AND CHEWING COCOA LEAVES TO COOL 
OFF THE SEXUAL URGES . AN ACID AXIOM AMONG IRISH GIRLS 
RUNS : " PUT AN IRISH FELLER IN A ROOM WITH 
A GIRL AND TWO BOTTLES OF STOUT, AND HE'LL PICK THE 
STOUT ANY TIME . " MANY EXPLANATIONS HAVE BEEN OFFERED FOR 
HIS SEEMING MISOGYNY : THE EPIC SUSPICION THAT WAR AND THE 
GODS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MERE LOVE ; THE RELENTLESS EMOTIONAL 
DOMINANCE OF IRISH MOTHERS OVER IRISH SONS ; THE ODDLY PURITANICAL 
STREAK IN IRISH CATHOLICISM ; ABOVE ALL, THE HERITAGE OF HARDSHIP 
THAT GIVES THE IRISH A MORTAL TERROR OF INSECURITY AND ENCOURAGES 
THEM TO STAY CELIBATE . AT LEAST SOME OF THESE FACTORS 
ARE CHANGING, AND THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES SEEM LESS SELF-CONSCIOUS 
AND AT TIMES DOWNRIGHT FRIENDLY . THE IRISH NOW WED YOUNGER 
; THE AVERAGE MARRIAGE AGE DROPPED FROM NEARLY 35 FOR MEN 
IN 1929 TO JUST OVER 30, FROM 29 FOR WOMEN TO 
JUST UNDER 27 . FOR THE YOUNG, ONE OF THE MOST 
JOYOUS INNOVATIONS IN RECENT YEARS HAS BEEN A PROLIFERATION OF DANCE 
HALLS, WHICH HAVE REACHED SCORES OF SMALL COMMUNITIES, AND A BURGEONING 
OF BANDS " 200 IN ALL THAT KEEP THE OULD SOD 
JUMPING WITH HIPPETYHOPPETY JAZZ AND CARRY SUCH INTRIGUING NAMES AS REBELS, 
JETS, MONARCHS . UNLIKE THE OLD DAYS, WHEN THE LOCAL PRIEST 
WOULD OFTEN DISPERSE A COUNTRY CEILIDH AT SUNDOWN, DANCE-HALL HOURS ARE 
REGULATED BY MAGISTRATES, WHO TEND TO BE MORE LIBERAL . AND, 
AS ALWAYS, THE WESTERN WORLD HAS ITS PLAYBOYS . IN LONDON, 
WHERE ONE IN EIGHT BIRTHS IS ILLEGITIMATE, AUTHORITIES REPORT THAT A 
DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF UNWED PEGEENS COME OVER TO HAVE THEIR BABIES 
FREE ON BRITAIN'S NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE . THE MOST CONSPICUOUS VICE 
OF THE IRISH IN TIMES PAST HAS BEEN " THE DRINK 
. " TODAY, THOUGH THE PUBS KEEP LONGER HOURS AND MOST 
IRISHMEN CAN AFFORD TO DRINK MORE, PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS IS NO LONGER 
THE COMMON SPECTACLE IT USED TO BE, AND BAREFOOT BOYS NO 
LONGER TROT THROUGH CITY STREETS BEARING JUGS OF FOAMING SOUT OR 
BOTTLES OF BRANDY HOME TO DAD . THE YOUNGER GENERATION SEEMS 
TO BE MORE SOBER THAN ITS PARENTS . ALSO, ALCOHOLIC HABITS 
ARE CHANGING : MORE DRINKING IS DONE AT HOME NOWADAYS ; 
COCKTAILS AND HARD LIQUOR ARE CUTTING INTO BEER CONSUMPTION ; AND 
MANY PUBS, WHICH HAD LONG BEEN JEALOUSLY GUARDED MALE PRESERVES, HAVE 
OPENED " SINGING LOUNGES " WHERE AN IRISHMAN CAN TAKE HIS 
WIFE OR GIRL . THE IMAGE OF THE BOOZY, BELLIGERENT IRISHMAN 
CONDEMNED AS SHEER HOSTILE PROPAGANDA BY SEAN LEMASS DIES HARD, NONETHELESS 
. INDEED, DRUNK OR SOBER, FEW PEOPLE ON EARTH CAN RAISE 
A GLASS WITH GREATER GUSTO OR STYLE . RADIANT GOALS . 
IRELAND FACES MANY MORE URGENT PROBLEMS . THE COUNTRY IS STILL 
CRITICALLY SHORT OF MODERN HOUSING ; HUNDREDS OF ONCE ELEGANT GEORGIAN 
MANSIONS IN DUBLIN HAVE FOR YEARS HELD SOME OF EUROPE'S MOST 
SQUALID SLUMS . WHILE THE GOVERNMENT HAS SUCCEEDED IN EASING IRELAND'S 
HISTORICALLY HARSH SYSTEM OF FARM LEASING, NEARLY 1,000,000 OF THE COUNTRY'S 
11 MILLION ACRES OF AGRICULTURAL LAND ARE STILL COVERED BY ELEVEN-MONTH 
LEASES, WHICH DISCOURAGE TENANTS AND OWNERS ALIKE FROM IMPROVING THE LAND 
(AFTER TWELVE MONTHS ON A FARM, AN IRISH TENANT HAS A 
LEGAL CLAIM TO BUY IT) . THOUGH 45 ACRES OF GOOD 
LAND ARE THE ACCEPTED MINIMUM FOR A VIABLE FARM, THERE ARE 
STILL 208,000 FARMS (OF 360,000) WITH LESS THAN 30 ACRES EACH 
. IN THE POOR WESTERN COUNTIES, ONE IN THREE FARMS IS 
STILL LESS THAN 15 ACRES, AND SONS GROW OLD WAITING FOR 
FATHERS TO DIE . THOUGH SEAN LEMASS IS OFTEN CHIDED IN 
PARLIAMENT FOR FOOT-DRAGGING ON HOUSING AND FARM REFORM, MOST OF THE 
NATION'S PROBLEMS ARE A LONGTIME LEGACY OF NATIONAL POVERTY AND POLITICAL 
TIMIDITY . WHAT IS RADIANTLY DIFFERENT ABOUT IRELAND TODAY IS THE 
SERIOUS EXPECTATION THAT ITS ILLS AND LAGS WILL IN FACT BE 
CORRECTED . LEMASS WILL SOON RELEASE DETAILS OF A NEW SIX-YEAR 
ECONOMIC PROGRAM THAT AIMS TO BOOST THE G.N.P . 50 PER 
CENT BY 1970 . IF IT SUCCEEDS AND HIS GOALS IN 
THE PAST HAVE BEEN SET FAR SHORT OF ACTUAL PERFORMANCE THE 
NATION WILL HAVE TRAVELED A LONG WAY FROM " THE UNFORTUNATE 
COUNTRY " OF IRELAND'S ANCIENT LAMENT . THE VARIED AND LIVELY 
VIRTUES OF THE IRISH, WHICH IN THE PAST HAVE OFTEN SHADED 
INTO WEAKNESSES WHEN THEY WERE NOT VIGOROUSLY APPLIED TO A CAUSE, 
ARE THE NATION'S BEST ASSURANCE THAT IT CAN FIND THE FUTURE 
IT SEEKS FOR ITSELF . HOWEVER BRIGHT THE GOAL, IRELAND WILL 
STILL BE MANY LIGHTYEARS AWAY FROM THE BLEST ISLE . BUT 
WHO KNOWS ? THEY MAY HAVE THEIR TROUBLES THERE TOO . 
