No EU boogeymen have crept through Ireland’s open door

EUROPE’s big bang of just one year ago has turned into the low hum of business as usual.

The fireworks, the poetry, the Irish welcome on the lawns of the Phoenix Park last May 1 marked the birth of the world's biggest trading bloc with close to half a billion people.

The fears of mass immigration, the loss of business and cultural diversity have proved largely unfounded so far.