A study carried out by Red C found that that 60 percent of Germans think that the Irish public did not show enough opposition to the bailout. 53 percent of British respondents and 41 percent in the US agree with them.

While the recent and rapid growth of the anti-water charge movement has led to two massive protests in the last two months, one of the most prominent features of the recession in Ireland has been the lack of public protest.

There was no mass-Occupy movement here like there was in New York, London, Madrid, Athens and other capitals around the world. We had Occupy Dame St during the winter of 2011, but it failed to get the same kind of traction that similar campaigns did abroad.

A 2011 Vanity Fair feature on Ireland by Moneyball author, Michael Lewis covered the fallout of the bailout, and was left asking the question: 'Where's the rage?'

The most practical answer is that emigration worked as a release-valve for the economy. A lot of the people who would have been protesting just left the country instead.

The study was commissioned by Galway businessman James Murphy, the founder of health and beauty product company Lifes2Good. It surveyed attitudes towards Ireland and the Irish in Germany, the UK, and the US.

The findings were broadly positive, except for when it came to the financial crisis. They found that 90 percent of people in the UK and Germany believe that politicians and bankers should have taken more of the blame for the crash, and a majority also believe that the Irish media added to the crisis.

In-light of the accelerating protest movement against water charges the study offers a good opportunity to re-examine our reaction to the bailout. 

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