Ireland has come a long way from its roots of religious division, cultural oppression and economic woes, said a visiting professor.

Brian Girvin, an Irish citizen who is on a professor exchange to Iowa State from the University of Glasgow, spoke to a crowd of about 20 about the past, present and future of Ireland Wednesday in the Gallery of the Memorial Union.

The lecture was part of “Irish Night,” being sponsored by the Student Union Board Multicultural Committee.

Stressing the cultural aspect of the country, Girvin said there is a “cultural element that drives through Ireland.” From Samuel Beckett to James Joyce, Girvin said Ireland is home to several Nobel Prize winners for literature.

He said this is shocking not only because of Ireland’s small size and relatively troubled past, but also because during much of the 20th century, books and writers were banned in the country.

“On one hand, you have a cultivation of culture, but on the other hand you have a society that banned writings,” Girvin said. By the 1950s, he said about 2,000 books had been banned, some written by famous authors such as Ernest Hemingway.

“Today, there are virtually no censorship laws that authors must abide by [in Ireland],” Girvin said.

Another cultural revolution in Ireland has come by way of music. Girvin said in the 1970s and ’80s, Ireland “imported” styles of music from other countries. Today, he said, Ireland is making its own music, from Sin‚ad O’Connor to U2.

Today, Girvin said Ireland has “become a mainstream in terms of culture.” He said the country has also transformed itself economically.

In the 1980s, he said there was a 20 percent unemployment rate. Coupled with an inflation rate of 20 percent during that same time period, Ireland was an “impoverished society,” Girvin said. As a result, 75 to 80 percent of students in Ireland emigrated following graduation.

“There just was no work,” Girvin said.

The per capita income in Ireland is now above the average of the European Union countries, Girvin said, a stark shift from where it used to fall.

That shift in economic success has also stopped the flow of emigration. Girvin said the increase in jobs and higher salaries have caused the Irish population to increase significantly in the past few years.

“Irish people are moving back from all over the world,” he said.

He called the economic changes an “extraordinary shift” and attributed the successes to Irish participation in the European Union.

He said the Irish have integrated themselves into the structures of power within the European Union. Joining the EU has caused some to believe Ireland is giving up nationalism, Girvin said, but he said that is a misconception.

Tensions between Northern Ireland, which is controlled by Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, have also been high at times, Girvin said. The Catholic-Protestant split has spawned terrorism in the area.

However, he said, “There is a genuine attempt to communicate across these barriers.”

Girvin said, statistically, every family in Northern Ireland has experienced a casualty, due to the widespread violence that has taken place in the past few decades.

In recent years, Girvin said there has been a decline in the tensions.

“What has happened in Northern Ireland illustrates how we can resolve ethnic problems throughout the world,” Girvin said.

Sarah Weitzel, an ISU alumna, attended Girvin’s lecture. She said what struck her the most was how “[Girvin] brought out how the cultures of Ireland and the U.S. are really coming together.”

Girvin said Ireland has come a long way to overcome its problems. “The darker side has now largely disappeared,” he said.