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History does tend to repeat itself, especially in Ireland! From having the tramlines back in the early 20th century which were then for some reason pulled up only for us to have to lay down the Luas 80 years later which as you might have guessed is a light rail service. This was one of the most baffling things to be seen in this country in a long time. Dublin, a European capital city and now the tech hub of Europe only got a light rail system 15 years ago. For some reason the light rail was pulled up roughly 80 years ago only to be laid back down at huge cost to the state just 15 years ago.

This system was known as Dublin tramways and was central to the famous Dublin lockout which was a strike action in the 1940s. These days with have the modern version of the tramways known as the Luas and it is a great system if it was a little late being implemented in our capital city. Now another new form of transport is coming to our streets in the electric scooter and the electric bike. There is also talk of extending the Luas line out to Dublin airport which is way overdue. From Dublin airport the only means to get into the city or anywhere in the country is using the bus service which is obviously quite slow.

You can get the air coach which links Dublin city to the airport but the rest of the country have to get a bus into the city to then get a bus or train where they are going to. Other forms of transport like the electric bike are also now being seen on Dublin city streets. The electric bike conversion kits mean that you can make your bike electric thus this is another great mode of personal transportation that is now taking off. www.ebikeobsessed.co.uk mention that almost 5% of bikes are now electric which is a huge statistic. Who knows…we could all b flying around in hovercraft in 20 years!

You might be surprised to hear that the desire to have whiter teeth is not some new fad of the 21st century. You would think this considering how vein our society has become in the last 20 years or so. This is down to a number of things but social media has a been a huge factor in this.

The rise of Instagram in particular has been thousands of now famous “Instagrammers” who make a living off of taking photos of themselves. When typed out that seems absolutely bizarre but none the less it is true. Ireland is no different and we to have fallen into this narcissistic society.

Gym membership has gone through to roof which is a good thing but it is more for the look than the health aspect. To go with this industries like teeth whitening are also booming according to Glorysmile.ie who have reported huge growth in the last few months. 20 years ago guys would not have had their teeth whitened or gone to tanning beds but now it is socially acceptable.

Is this leading to the death of our culture as we all become more and more like the USA? There is an argument for both sides. Of course the Irish culture has diminished rapidly in the last 20 – 30 years. Due to the boom known as the Celtic Tiger we lost our ways in the success that we secured.

It was the first time Ireland has seen such financial success and we did not handle it well by any means which meant that a lot of people took huge losses in the following decade from 2008 when the recession hit Ireland hard. We did not prepare for the bad times in the good times and this should be a lesson learned as again our economy looks to be getting good again.

We hope that great organisations like the GAA will keep a strong hold on Irish culture and so far they have done a great job. Money can lead us down the wrong path but they have kept true to their roots and we hope this continues so we have a strong Irish culture going forward.

As 2018 nears its end and we are coming close to celebrating 100 years of independence it is amazing to think just how far our little country has come. Of course being Irish we are biased but we have had a huge impact on the world and that is without invading any countries or any sort of powerful military moves. hundreds of thousands of Irish are now in the UK and it is said that after Dublin, London has the second most Irish people in the world. We then also have millions of citizens in the US with Irish blood especially in cities like Boston, New York and Chicago.

In recent years countries like Canada and Australia are extremely popular destinations for Irish to go and work for a year. Sometimes this is done out of necessity such as when the recession hit us bad in 2008 and other times it is just out of a sense of adventure. New Zealand is another destination that has become popular although not as much so as Australia where the major cities are overrun with Irish. I am not sure if we are seen as a good presence in these places but I believe we are.

Back home Dublin is thriving again and is fast becoming the biggest tech hub in Europe. Dublin has transformed from an old mistress into a thriving cosmopolitan city. Dublin now is unrecognizable when compared with even 25 years ago. We now have the Luas which is the light rail system, the M50 bypass  and lots of employment. Now the tables have turned with many people coming here for work.

The roads have improved tremendously and we have a good bicycle lane network which is well used as well as seeing things like electric scooters and hoverboards being used as a commute to work. Who would have thought all of this 25 years ago? Long may it continue and I dare say no other nation has had a big an impact on the world than Ireland without any sort of military conflict. Ok the USA is the worlds entertainment industry but per capita Ireland still wins!!