“Becoming a modern society requires industrialization, urbanization and increasing levels of literacy, education and wealth. »― Samuel P. Huntington Growing as a nation comes with struggle, conflict, and the need to have an open mind when approaching and evaluating various situations and options. The evolution of a society brings with it an unsettling feeling of change, which many cannot accept. With the term social modernization, social refers to a gathering or community of people and modernization is the movement from the old to the new, but in reference to social sciences it is the process of urbanization and d industrialization which, in turn, affects people's lives. Urbanization is the development of urban areas due to a change in employment demand and various other factors from rural areas to cities, and industrialization is the shift from an agriculturally oriented society to a society based on manufacturing, technology and economic benefits. This essay will identify the turning points in Ireland, which affected and influenced their social policy as well as social modernization and the period of change from recessions to booms to an uncertain economy. Social services which include; education, housing, health, income maintenance and personal social services are the epicenter and focal point of social policy and focus on the well-being of individuals and societies (Curry, 1980). Social policies are generally put in place by governments for the good of society and for disadvantaged people. This is done by trying to emphasize a sense of equality in all spheres of life (Curry, 1980). It is important to examine Ireland's history in order to understand the reasoning behind its social policy. Ireland... middle of paper... and have at times had to go back to basics and build from the ground up as we have seen in recent years. It has formed its own identity, fought internal battles, and its economy is slowly improving. It has evolved from a traditional society to a modern society where the focus is on imports, exports, industrialization and creating interest for international investors. It is a country that was shaped around the foundations of Catholicism and slowly emerged as a republic, guided by the government but in the hands of the people. As is evident, there is a link between social policy and the economy (Considine, et al., 2009), since many policies are based and developed around the current economic situation and vice versa, without a sense of economic sustainability and a continued flow of income, some policies cannot continue and a model for Ireland's future success must be developed..