DLR Councillor highlights Michael Collins’ “surprisingly modern” economic vision
Fine Gael Councillor Eoin O’Driscoll reflects on Collins’ economic legacy on anniversary of his death.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Councillor Eoin O’Driscoll is marking the anniversary of Michael Collins’ death by highlighting a lesser-known aspect of the revolutionary leader’s legacy — his thinking about the economic future of an independent Ireland.
Councillor O’Driscoll, whose family is connected to Collins through his maternal grandmother, Johanna O’Brien of Sam’s Cross, said Collins’ economic vision deserves greater attention.
“Michael Collins is rightly remembered as a pivotal figure in Ireland’s struggle for independence. But he also thought deeply about what an independent Ireland should actually look like once independence had been achieved,” Cllr O’Driscoll said.
“In The Economics of a Free Ireland, Collins set out a remarkably ambitious vision for 1922. He understood the importance of economic growth to deliver greater security, ownership and independence for ordinary people, while also building the infrastructure, enterprise and productive capacity needed for a successful State.”
Collins argued for developing Irish industry and enterprise, investing in infrastructure, mobilising capital, expanding trade and ensuring that prosperity was widely shared.
Cllr O’Driscoll said that while Ireland’s circumstances had changed fundamentally, some of the questions Collins was grappling with remained relevant.
““Obviously, Ireland today is a very different country, and we shouldn’t pretend Collins anticipated the modern European economy. But there is a powerful idea in his thinking that remains relevant: economic growth matters because of what it makes possible — greater opportunity, security, ownership and independence for people, families and communities.”
“For Collins, the task was to build the economic foundations of a newly independent State. Ireland has achieved remarkable prosperity, but our challenge now is both to sustain and strengthen that prosperity in a changing geopolitical and economic environment, and to ensure it continues to deliver for people — through greater productivity and enterprise, the infrastructure we need, and the housing and ownership opportunities that allow people to build secure, independent lives and strong communities.”
Cllr O’Driscoll has recommended Collins’ The Path to Freedom, which contains The Economics of a Free Ireland, as a worthwhile read for those interested in the economic thinking behind the early State.
“I think we tend to remember Collins primarily as a revolutionary and political leader. It is worth remembering that he was also thinking very practically about how an independent Ireland could build prosperity and give people the means to shape their own lives.”
ENDS
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