During the nineties Ireland, along with South Korea, was the fastest growing economy among the OECD countries. The average yearly GDP growth in Ireland stood at 6.8% in the first half of the decade, reaching a staggering 9% in the latter part.

In the present paper the author seeks to identify those elements of Irish economic policy which contributed most to the unprecedented economic boom of the 90s. To start with, the situation at the beginning of the decade is described, reaching back to the policy of the period 1950-1986 and its impact. Then the paper traces the changes in key macroeconomic indicators between 1980 and 1999. The third part deals with the Irish economic policy of the 90s. Special attention is given to fiscal policy, which, in the author's opinion, played a key role in accelerating the growth of Ireland's GDP in the period discussed.

Given the difficulty in accessing data of sufficient reliability and detail, the paper is largely a descriptive one and includes only elements of qualitative analysis.