Yes AFT, Ireland could be considered a microcosm of the Catholic world. As the jewel in the crown of the European Church;  most of the population were practicing Catholics in 1979. It was selected as a safe bet for the first Papal trip of JPII. Over 1M people attended the Papal Mass in Phoenix Park, in Dublin.
It is now 38 years later. I have 9 grandchildren. Their parents generation attend church for the big occasions. The faith aspect will have dissipated for my grandchildren by adulthood. They are all very "Christian" in their outlook and lives. Because of the abuse scandal; untold damage has been done to the the credibility of the institutional church. 
Bishops automatically blame materialism and other contemporary issues for the decline. They are in denial of the immeasurable  damage perpetrated by the clerical child abuse and episcopal cover-up. It shocked the Irish nation to the core, because fundamentally we were such a practicing "Roman Catholic" people. It will never recover.