Born in 2016

The centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising was commemorated with enormous ceremony. Ireland reflected on how far it had come — from poverty and partition to European prosperity and peace. The economy was still growing strongly, and Dublin's tech economy was drawing talented workers from across Europe.

But housing was becoming a crisis again. The election produced a hung Dáil and a minority government. Brexit was voted for in Britain in June, and Ireland watched with real anxiety — the border question was suddenly live again.