Over
almost forty years, the objectives, content, operation and outcomes of the EU’s
regional policy have constantly evolved. The policy has served as an
inspiration for new ideas in Irish policy-making and implementation but it has
also circumscribed domestic policies and practices. This contribution presents
a study of the way in which Ireland has responded to the obligations and
opportunities created by EU regional policy. It highlights the manner in which
national and European adaptation reflected the changing rationale and
priorities of this influential policy. It demonstrates that a creative
pragmatism enabled Ireland to use the available resources to good effect but
that the country’s regional disparities have not been overcome. Both top-down
and bottom-up variants of Europeanisation have emerged with the EU’s resources shaping Ireland’s
development and Ireland’s resourcefulness contributing to the on-going development of EU regional
policy.