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I think it is fair to say that no one saw that Covid-19 pandemic coming and we are still very much in the midst of it today however there are still some positives coming down the line with the various vaccines on offer. Unfortunately Ireland has been in one form of lock down or another in the last 12 months and we are currently in the tightest restrictions in Europe with our level 5 Covid restrictions.

This has led to a huge change of life for everyone but it has also created a work from home revolution as employers have been encouraged to allow their workers to work from home for the foreseeable. Some companies are evening saying that this could be here to stay although I believe the novelty has worn off for a lot of people who have spent the last 12 months essentially working from their kitchen or other part of the house that they are also confined to for most of the day.

This has led to people having to invest in their home and get things like office desks, office chairs, gaming chairs, PC monitors and essentially a more professional work from home setup. Companies like housetech who supply gaming chairs have seen a huge increase in sales in the last 12 months which shows that some companies are thankfully benefiting from the pandemic with their website housetech.ie recording a large uptick in traffic when lockdown began.

Others who have benefited from lockdown are the courier companies with DPD advertising for 700 new staff to deal with the huge increase in online orders in such a short period of time. Christmas 2020 was their busiest period ever and to be fair we all think that they done a very good job of making sure everyone had a great Christmas.

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!!