The rapidity of change in Irish early childhood policy over the last 20 years is clear to observers (OECD Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Ireland. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, 2004). What may be debated is how significant the changes are. In this paper, we analyse changes in early childhood education and care policy in Ireland since 1995, using Hall's (Comp Politics 25(3):275-296, 1993) typology of policy change to help understand how policies and institutions could change so much in appearance without changing their fundamental features or underlying philosophy. We demonstrate that, despite extensive change, a traditional policy paradigm has held constant, where the State's role in direct service delivery remains limited, the State continues to be reluctant to intervene in "family matters" and education is prioritised over care. (author abstract)