Ireland's economic transformation in just 15 years from a Celtic backwater to part of the mainstream global economy has attracted attention far and wide. From Israel to China and from Bulgaria to Chile, governments are wondering aloud whether they can replicate Irish economic success. The country has achieved average growth of 7% per year and a fall in unemployment from 16% to nearly 4% of the workforce, and now boasts one of the most globalised economies in the world, up there with Singapore and Switzerland.