Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) – as the EU was then known – on January 1, 1973, after a referendum endorsed by 83% of voters. It was then among the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in western Europe, with a population just over half of its current size.

Ireland’s accession proved to be the most consequential economic milestone in the half century since Irish independence, but it also set in motion far-reaching social and cultural change. EU legislation has driven improvements in workers’ rights, for example, and set binding targets for climate action. Irish people have studied and built new lives across Europe, while many Europeans have since made their homes here in Ireland.