<P> The state was neutral during World War II, but offered clandestine assistance to the Allies, particularly in the potential defence of Northern Ireland . Despite their country's neutrality, approximately 50,000 volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses . </P> <P> The Abwehr was also active in Ireland . German intelligence operations effectively ended in September 1941 when police made arrests on the basis of surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Dublin, including that of the United States . To the authorities, counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence . With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side in the conflict . </P> <P> Large - scale emigration marked most of the post-WWII period (particularly during the 1950s and 1980s), but beginning in 1987 the economy improved, and the 1990s saw the beginning of substantial economic growth . This period of growth became known as the Celtic Tiger . The Republic's real GDP grew by an average of 9.6% per annum between 1995 and 1999, in which year the Republic joined the euro . In 2000, it was the sixth - richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita . </P> <P> Social changes also occurred in this time, most markedly with the decline in authority of the Catholic Church . The financial crisis that began in 2008 dramatically ended this period of boom . GDP fell by 3% in 2008 and by 7.1% in 2009, the worst year since records began (although earnings by foreign - owned businesses continued to grow). The state has since experienced deep recession, with unemployment, which doubled during 2009, remaining above 14% in 2012 . </P>

When did ireland became a first world country
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