This study argues that the transformation that has taken place in Irish Higher Education over the last five decades is better understood in the context of similar advances that have taken in place in higher education throughout the world over the same time period. World society theory posits that these global changes, and the diffusion of particular policies and organisational forms, is a consequence of emerging global structures and an increasingly rationalised world culture that impacts on all nation-states and social domains such as higher education. International organisations are a key element of these global structures and play a pivotal role in the creation of models that delineate actors, purpose and structure within particular social domain. The study assesses the degree to which Irish higher education has been shaped by that broader world culture and examines the interactions between actors in Irish higher education and two of the most influential agencies involved in forming global models of higher education, the European Union and the OECD."