Ireland
Monday 22 October 2007 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
Matthew Sweet and guests test the cultural temperature of Ireland. A booming economy has led to a standard of living that's one of the highest in the EU, but what effect is the new-found wealth having on the spiritual and moral health of the nation? A Catholic Bishop has attacked his compatriots' obsession with materialism and the German ambassador to Dublin mocked Ireland's conspicuous consumption. Is this simply jealousy, or has the country's wealth altered its outlook?
Playlist
In the last thirty years Ireland has undergone a dramatic transformation.
After centuries of economic struggle and misfortune the Irish seem to have struck it lucky.they always enjoyed international acclaim for their writers and their musicians but all of a sudden they're being hailed for their prosperity and their lifestyle.
In fact in a recent survey carried out by the Economist magazine it emerged that there was nowhere in the world that could compete with Ireland for la dolce vita.
In Night Waves Matthew Sweet will be examining what gave birth to the Celtic Tiger and what defines the new Ireland.
He'll be joined by this year's winner of the Booker prize, Anne Enright, her fellow writer, Cahal Dallat and the eminent historians, Roy Foster and Paul Bew.
Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change 1970 - 2000 by Roy Foster is published by Penguin.
People's Choice Debate
And in the run-up to Radio 3's festival of ideas, Free Thinking, which takes place in Liverpool next month, the economic strategist Tom Cannon makes his pitch for the festival's People's Choice debate. He argues that if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
