Born in 1997

Bertie Ahern became Taoiseach, a Northsider from Drumcondra who was genuinely popular across the country. The Good Friday Agreement negotiations were underway, and the prospect of peace in the north had people holding their breath with hope. The economy was growing at extraordinary rates — 11% this year.

Tiger prosperity was real: new pubs, new restaurants, new houses, new cars, new confidence. Ireland was almost unrecognisably more prosperous than a decade earlier.