The paper on "Ireland and the European Union" is informative and fairly easy to follow. The author has clearly spent some time looking at the political and economic aspect of the EU and introduces, but does not elaborate on, the more interesting social implications of Irish involvement in the EU. The formation and history of the European Union is covered well to make this a good resource for basic research in that organization by itself. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are handled separately which also makes the work more attractive as a research aid. The paper only briefly considers the future of the EU and Ireland; this is excusable because there is not much literature that can pin-down the uncertain future relations of the EU, especially over the course of years.
No particular bias dominates the paper, perhaps because the topic does not lend itself to a risky thesis at this level of analysis. In other words, the author would have needed a far greater knowledge of the subject than he seemed to command. This should not be viewed as a glaring deficiency on the author's part since political analysts often spend years of intense study on the subject before formulating a clear idea of the relationship between the EU and a particular country. Notwithstanding, the paper would have been more interesting for the reader and author if a more substantial thesis was posited. It might, for instance, be fascinating to see how the Irish people feel about the EU and its plans for the future, or how the EU has affected the Irish culture. As it stands, the paper is a competent and useful introduction to the topic but has a 'book-report' flair to it.
With seven works cited the paper are sufficient for the topic since it is relatively recent and ongoing. It would have been interesting to further look at the possible unification of Ireland more closely in the context of the EU. Sources for this are de facto hypothetical in nature though, so there may have been problems integrating it into this paper.
I certainly understand to the more fully now for having read the essay. All of the various institutions at work in the EU were explained clearly and effectively. This work should be a very useful reference tool for anyone hoping to obtain a basic understanding of Ireland's relation to the EU.
In terms of factual accuracy, the paper is very good and makes no 'hazardous' use of statistics to strengthen its argument. Likewise, no mere opinions have been put forth, in an unqualified manner, as reality. Additionally, most, if not all, of the facts do tie into the thesis of the paper. To my knowledge there are no pieces of information whose absence is so glaring as to lessen the merit of the paper.
Again, the paper is well organized and very informative. Anyone hoping to learn the basics of the European Union and its relationship to Ireland would do well to consult this paper. For deeper analysis of the current situation, and original ideas about the prospects of future relations, any student should hopefully know to consult articles or individuals closer to the source.