Thus lamented W B Yeats in his poem 'September 1913'. He went on to castigate those that' fumble in a greasy tillAnd add the halfpence to the pence',
so goodness knows what he would have made of modern Ireland, especially now in the wake of the Celtic Tiger when we are left to pick up the pieces of the banking crisis, the unfinished housing estates littering our towns and countryside, and a new generation of emigrants leaving our shores in search of jobs.
But we still have our culture and heritage, major factors in retaining our national identity and attracting tourists, and a new President who has promised to make ' the values of equality, respect, participation in an active citizenship' a hallmark
of his presidency.

Mountbagnal cemetery, Co Louth