Dependence and underdevelopment are the results of the penetration of capitalism into societies which were pre-capitalist in the past. The emergence of capitalism in central Europe and its expansion to incorporate all of Europe and later all of the world into its framework marked the beginning of the process of dependence. This situation was first established through direct colonialism and continues today in the form of Neo-colonialism. (Incorporation into the world capitalist system has never been on equal terms.) Such inequality manifests itself primarily between classes but also within space. Recent studies within geography have concentrated upon documenting this process with regard to what has been called the "Third World," (and as a result there has been little, if no, assessment of the impact of Imperialism upon the "Metropole" or "centre"). 1 This paper seeks to redress this imbalance, by way of an empirical analysis of dependence and underdevelopment in the context of mineral resources in the Irish Republic.