Ireland's success during the 1990's, which earned the label “The Celtic Tiger,” may seem as if it came out of nowhere. But it took years of investment and strategic planning for Ireland to become one of the world's fastest-growing countries. Ireland's current investments in research, innovation, and technological development likewise promise to provide great future rewards. Actually, the most promising fact about Ireland's focus on research and development, including through the institution I serve, Science Foundation Ireland, may be the strengths upon which it is building, strengths established long before the Celtic Tiger seemed magically to emerge.