Here we go, 2011, welcome to the penultimate year of existence according to our Mayan Brothers,
We as irish people stand on the verge of political change over, emigration and bleakness, europe as an entity is getting tighter in many respects and looser in others, some say we are closing in on the United States Of Europe fear, others say we may break apart as the EU while the Euro is thrown around like a spoilt child among divorced family members.
College Fees rise, grants are cuts, banks go bust, galway niteclubs Gpo and Cuba Fail to make it new years day as Zhivago Falls into Liquidation,while hotels and airlines deal with laying off staff and dole queues stretch into eternal darkness and confusion mixed with the spoon of uncertainty. not to mention superquinn in NAAS!
as a people, we veer to extremes, we are either  very rich or very poor, we are either vv serious and on the dry or polluted drunk, we are lavish and extravagant or dirt skint,is it in our nature to be extremists, occupation for 800 years, and the release that came with it led to nationalist passions and madness in the years of our BOOM

in my fathers life time, he has seen emigration in the 50s, stability in the 60s, emigration in the 70s and 80s, and prosperity in the 90s and noughties, and now emigration once again.

what does this say about us?do we not learn from our mistakes, is the philosophy of drinking through the misery enough, when will we learn,

out of these economic and financial black holes and dole and unemployment has come artistic expression. we produce more multi platinum musicians per head than any other nation in the world, we have produced more nobel winning writings per head than any other nation and we are mad creative!

music, art, writing for screen-theatre-novels-poetry, you name it we do it! and we paint ur shed for ya too!

so from 2011 to 2018 ish if we exist that long where will the James Joyces, Becketts, U2’s and Cranberries come, the honest answer is from the misery around us, so look around next time you queue to buy a euromillions lotto ticket or collect your dole cheque, the person beside you could lift our nations spirits, on a playing field, on a musical stage, or at an oscar or grammy cermony,we have had more sporting success and eurovision wins in bad times then we have in good!

So lets see where 2011 takes us,