Quote Originally Posted by Rhyfelwyr View Post
Well I don't think you can compare the situation in Ireland and I would argue that it could not be called a colony. But still, yeah, Ireland has some similiarities with the colonies in that English rule still helped haul it out of the dark ages in some respects. As can be testified to by the fact that the heart of the Republic is not out in the middle of Mayo, but in the old centre of Anglo-Irish rule, Dublin, and based a fair bit on the insitutions created there as well.
Complete rubbish. It wasn't England that hauled Ireland out of the Dark Ages, but Eire that preserved a great deal of Western philosophy and culture through the Dark Ages. You might wish to read outside your narrow sectarian bias. Dublin became important because of the Vikings, not because of the English.

gaelic cowboy is right about the institutions that existed for takeover by the Republic and the unusual relationship between Britain and Ireland that facilitated a smooth (ish) transition.