This study investigates the formulation o f copyright regulation in Ireland, within the administrative and political structure, in the con text of wider cultural and political debates in the period between the eighteenth century and the late twentieth century. Political, cultural, industrial and economic inputs to the formation of policy are identified and analysed. A critical examination of the development of the country’s copyright regulatory system is provided, in order to give an assessment of its effects on specific Irish cultural industries in each of the major periods which were researched. The printing and publishing industries are a consistent focus, but this is extended in later chapters to include broadcasting and some developing new media. The influence of copyright legislation on the balance between the development of the cultural industries in Ireland and the importation of cultural goods from outside Ireland is demonstrated in parallel with this assessment. A lack of awareness of the possibilities of linking Irish cultural production to cultural reproduction w ithin Ireland is demonstrated. The development of the Irish content industries is shown to have been almost wholly dissoc iated from the intentions of the framers of the copyright regulatory framework, in contrast to the situation in other states. It is shown that debates on Irish copyright policy began in earnest only after independence. The contamination of copyright policy by extraneous issues (notably the use of copyright policy as an instrument for the assertion of sovereignty) is highlighted. The relative absence of analysis of the substantive matter of copyright and of its effects, together with the associated shadowing in Irish legislation of pre-existing British forms, draw attention to the normative approach within the Administration to British copyright choices. The longstanding dependency of the Irish administration on external debates and solutions to copyright problems is established. The study concludes with a commentary on the implications of Irish copyright regulation on the industrial and cultural development of the country. The shift of the location of debate from domestic to international negotiating forums, notable the European Union and the World Trade Organization is shown. The necessity for realism in relation to the contemporary possibilities for Ireland to use copyright regulation to achieve differential beneficial effects for the country is argued.