The Saorstát is a Neo-colony

Crucial to the idea of neo-colonialism is that direct imperial control has been superseded by more sustainable forms of governance, via the construction of local political institutions that do not challenge free trade or foreign investment and that these limitations are partially enforced or upheld on a domestic level, by a native class who can expect to benefit from the arrangement.
— Read on rupture.ie/articles/the-saorstat-is-a-neo-colony