Common Ground: Ireland and the EU - EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin

Common Ground: Ireland and the EU exhibition at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

Date: 1st July – 31st December 2026
Times: 10am – 6:45pm (last entry 5pm)
Location: Celebrations Gallery, EPIC
Cost: Entry to exhibition is included in general admission tickets.

About The Exhibition

Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) – as the EU was then known – on January 1, 1973, after a referendum endorsed by 83% of voters. It was then among the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in western Europe, with a population just over half of its current size.

Ireland’s accession proved to be the most consequential economic milestone in the half century since Irish independence, but it also set in motion far-reaching social and cultural change. EU legislation has driven improvements in workers’ rights, for example, and set binding targets for climate action. Irish people have studied and built new lives across Europe, while many Europeans have since made their homes here in Ireland.

As Ireland assumes the EU presidency in 2026, this new multimedia exhibition explores how a small island nation has extended its influence across Europe, and how Europe, in turn, has profoundly shaped modern Ireland.

Featured Stories

Equal Pay

In 1972, women in Ireland earned roughly 57% of men’s average hourly wage. EU membership influenced some of the most significant Irish laws introduced to address the gender pay gap. The Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act 1974, for example, established the right to equal pay for ‘like work’, but the Irish government, under pressure from employers, delayed its implementation and unsuccessfully applied for a derogation from the European directive on equal pay.

Once the legislation finally came into effect, women across a range of sectors began asserting their rights. The historian Suzanne Jobling notes that an average of 80 cases per year were referred to equal pay officers between 1976 and 1981.

Campaigners with a petition demanding the implementation of equal pay, signed by 30,000 people. January 28, 1976. Attic Press / Róisín Conroy Collection, University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork.

Black and white image of campaigners with a petition demanding the implementation of equal pay, signed by 30,000 people.

Studying Abroad

Erasmus, the EU student exchange programme established in 1987, has allowed millions of young Europeans to experience life in another part of Europe. The 2014 launch of Erasmus+ widened the programme to include teachers and non-university students.

Some of the connections made have proved lasting. Frenchman Pascal Bonnichon was one of the earliest Erasmus students to arrive in Ireland, moving in 1987 to Sligo, where he met his future wife, Siobhan. Siobhan followed him back to France, but the couple eventually returned to Ireland. Today, they have two adult children and together run their own business.

Erasmus couple Pascal and Siobhan Bonnichon in their early years together.

An Ghaeilge

When Ireland joined the EEC, Irish did not hold official language status. European treaties were translated into Irish, but other important pieces of legislation were not. Campaigning by Irish language advocates and the Irish government led to it receiving recognition in 2007, but a staffing shortage resulted in a derogation that limited how much material was translated.

Irish finally became a full official and working language of the EU in 2022. Those speaking Irish can now pursue a wide range of careers in EU institutions, including as translators, interpreters, lawyer-linguists, proofreaders, and linguistic assistants and secretaries. A short film featured in the exhibition captures some of their experiences.

Dubliner Brian Mitchell, an interpreter with the European Commission in Brussels.

Image of Brian Mitchell, an interpreter with the EU Commission in Brussels

Dr Catherine Healy, Historian-in-Residence at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

A Note from Our Curator

“The architects of what we now know as the EU came together at a time when the nations of Europe were still struggling to overcome the devastation wrought by World War II. They imagined a continent where people could cross borders in search of work, adventure and community, rather than as soldiers bearing arms. This exhibition highlights some of the many ways that vision has shaped the lives of families and communities across Ireland.”

Dr Catherine Healy

Historian-in-Residence at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum.

Exhibition Bilbiography

This exhibition is supported by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Emigrant Support Programme.