(July 18, 2006) "Mixed Blessings" looks at Ireland's dramatic transformation from a poor nation of rolling green fields, farmers' pubs, and devout Catholics to an urbanized, secularized and giddily flush society. In this program, WIDE ANGLE visits the city of Limerick.

In the last 15 years, the Republic of Ireland has seen a dramatic economic renaissance that has catapulted its economy into the ranks of the richest in Europe. Rapid change has been a mixed blessing, however, as the march of progress overwhelms much of the traditional charm that has been Ireland's trademark for decades.