Using data obtained from the Irish Statistical Bulletin (1972) we have calculated changes in the meanper capita daily consumption of the major foodstuffs and nutrients from 1961 to 1971. A comparison of the intake of the major nutrients with the recommended daily intakes of these nutrients indicates that the populationas a whole is (i) changing its preferences with respect to the major foodstuffs, the consumption of bread, flour and potatoes being considerably reduced while pigmeat, beef and margarine consumption is increased; (ii) consuming a mixture of protein from vegetable and animal sources which is “ideal”; (iii) receiving the recommended dietary allowance of the principal nutrients with the exception of vitamin D and the minerals sodium and magnesium, from the 13 principal foodstuffs in the diet and (iv) receiving an increasing amount of its daily caloric intake from animal fat.