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1 January 1973General source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Ireland Joins the European Economic Community

A poor, agricultural island on Europe's edge signs up for the single market and is transformed within a generation

On the timeline · around 1 January 1973 · Independence and Modern IrelandIndependence and Modern IrelandIreland Joins the European Economic Community193019401950196019701980199020002010

Quick facts

Joined EEC
1 January 1973
Referendum result
83% in favour
1973 trade
Imports 1.4bn euro vs exports 1.1bn euro
2020 trade
Imports 85.3bn euro vs exports over 160bn euro

What happened

Following a referendum in May 1972 in which 83 percent of voters backed membership, Ireland joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973 alongside the United Kingdom and Denmark. Membership gave Irish farmers access to the EEC's more profitable single market and, over subsequent decades, helped the country shift from a struggling agricultural economy into a more diversified, knowledge-based one built around pharmaceuticals, computer hardware and software, and financial services. Ireland's trade position reversed dramatically: in 1973 the country imported more than it exported, with imports worth 1.4 billion euro and exports 1.1 billion; by 2020 imports had grown to 85.3 billion euro and exports had passed 160 billion euro. EU membership also drove significant social change, including equal pay legislation for men and women doing the same work, reversing discriminatory workplace practices that had persisted in Ireland into the 1970s.

Why it matters

EEC and later EU membership is central to Ireland's transformation from what its own national statistics office describes as an island on the periphery of Europe into one of the currency union's wealthiest members per capita, a reversal that reshaped the country's economy, legal rights, and self-image within a single working lifetime.

How we know

Ireland's 1973 accession, referendum result, and subsequent trade figures are documented by Ireland's Central Statistics Office and by the European Commission's own representation office in Dublin, both of which publish detailed retrospective data on the membership's economic effects.

Sources

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Ireland Joins the European Economic Community · History of Ireland · SourcedStory