Freedom: Licence or Liberty?: Engaging with a Transforming Ireland Ceifin Conference Papers 2007 (Ceifin Conference Papers)

There is little dispute that Ireland in the twenty-first century is a society in transformation. With an economy registering unparalleled growth, a rising population buoyed by an enriching immigrant community and an overall confidence in the future, the Irish have much to celebrate. There is, however, a downside to that transformation. Ireland may, by some criteria, be deemed to be the second wealthiest nation in the world, but for all its success there are many who feel disconnected and marginalized in Irish society. The Irish may be free from the shackles - economic or social of their past, but does that freedom constitute true liberty or is it engendering a license that is ultimately threatening to the fabric of their 'new' society? These questions provide the theme of Ceifin's ninth annual conference: Freedom: License or Liberty?. Once again, Ceifin has assembled a panel of distinguished speakers whose experience will explore and distil that theme in challenging and provocative ways.