In Search of the Promised Land

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In In Search of the Promised Land, Gary Murphy argues against the thesis of Tom Garvin and his work, Preventing the Future. In that book, Garvin argues that old culture, old ideas and the repression of the Church held Ireland's development in check through the 1940s and 1950s. Gary Murphy suggests that our government and civil service leaders were in fact open to change and new ideas and this openness led them to adopt outward-looking policies. He accepts that some policy-makers were reluctant to accept any compromise on sovereignty or Ireland's self reliance even though in the long term, these compromises opened the economy and brought employment and success. It was the fresh thinking that came from within the country that eventually led to the association with Europe and the joining of the EEC. Far from holding the country back, the post-war leadership and culture was seeking new ways to deal with the nation's challenges.