FOCAL POINT is a new series of web-exclusive documentary shorts on international current affairs produced by Wide Angle, in collaboration with independent producers from around the globe.

Ireland announced that it would guarantee all bank deposits in order to regain confidence in the Irish banking system. The potential risk for the Irish taxpayer is €400 billion. Or to put it another way, it’s over 200 percent of Ireland’s GDP.

(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.

Mixed Blessings looks at Ireland's dramatic transformation from a poor nation to an urbanized and secularized society.

Director Darragh Byrne and Co-producer Erin Chapman discuss the inspiration behind "Mixed Blessings" and the making of the film.