Senator Mairin Quill was the only girl in her class in primary school to go on to second-level education she told a public meeting of the National Forum on Europe in Cork City Hall.
The former schoolteacher said all of her young friends had to emigrate to get work unlike their contemporaries of today who have access to second- and third-level education.
"The past decade is the first since the famine that this country has been able to provide a livelihood for its people. The fact that we can do this is directly due to our membership of the EU and we shouldn't forget that. Anyone seeking to deny that is living in a strange planet indeed."
Ms Quill said this was a crucial time in Irish history as voters had the opportunity to extend to the people of Eastern Europe the benefits which this country has accrued from membership of the EU.
A surprisingly large number of young people attended the Forum on Europe "roadshow" which featured guest speakers Alan Dukes and Robin Hanan of the European Anti Poverty Network.
Mary O'Regan of the No to Nice campaign said Eastern European countries were not half as enthusiastic about being part of the EU as politicians would like them to be. She told the hall of over 100 people that free trade would ruin the native businesses of countries like Estonia and Poland.
However, Alan Dukes told Mary O'Regan that her comments contradicted No to Nice pamphlets which claim that if the treaty was ratified, multinationals would move to countries in Eastern Europe where they could get cheap labour.
Bob from Youghal, Co Cork, said he travelled 30 miles for the meeting even though he was disgusted by the lack of publicity for the forum.
"I am appalled at the way you advertised this. It is a disgrace. You should have had thousands of people here. Our neutrality is at stake because of this treaty. I am going to vote No and stand by my principles," he said.
Mark Wakefield argued that people were actually getting more information about Europe because of the No vote in the last referendum on the Nice Treaty.
He said it was ironic that it took a No vote for the Government to stand up and pay attention to the electorate.
Aine Ní Chonaill of Immigration Control told the meeting she had sent a letter to a Government Minister asking him to clarify issues she was confused about in relation to the treaty.
"I said I needed a reply by 5 p.m. on Friday 6th of September. No reply was forthcoming. It appears we are not to be given answers to these questions."
Piaras Mac Einri warned that sections of the No to Nice campaign had taken on a racist slant in relation to the treaty.
He claimed Ireland was a country that should be seen to welcome enlargement rather than engaging in racist discussions.
A number of people talked about voting No in order to register a protest against the current Government.
However, Alan Dukes of the International European Movement said a protest vote was not appropriate as Nice was "bigger than Bertie Ahern or Mary Harney". Cait Mehigan, vice-president of the Students Union in University College Cork, summed up the feelings of many Yes campaigners with an anecdote from a trip abroad.
"I was in France recently with a group of students from all over Europe and they were talking about the Nice Treaty. One person from Eastern Europe started discussing their situation and somebody from Italy shouted something about Ireland and the Nice Treaty. I never felt so alone. A protest vote is just ludicrous."
The next Forum on Europe public meeting will take place on Monday, September 16th at 8pm in the Spa Hotel, Lucan, Co Dublin.