FROM Joyce to Beckett, Ireland’s best storytellers have often preferred to describe their homeland from other parts of Europe. The latest continental raconteur eager to spin Ireland’s tale is the European Union. Mired in deflation and despair, the EU desperately needs a good news story. And it appears to have found one in the rainy island off its north-west shore. “Congratulations, Ireland!” exclaimed Jyrki Katainen, the new European commissioner for growth and jobs, as he unveiled another miserable set of forecasts for the European economy this week.While Germany, France and Italy, the biggest economies in the euro zone, look set for a sluggish 2015, at least the Celtic Tiger is roaring again. The commission forecasts Irish GDP growth of 4.6% this year and 3.6% next; others put the figures better still. Unemployment is high but falling. And for champions of the austerity-first approach to public finances, Ireland provides a useful example: after a devastating banking crash that led to a €67 billion ($ 87 billion) bail-out in November 2010, it underwent a gruelling fiscal consolidation and endured significant wage cuts.In Ireland itself, however, good cheer…
