Ireland in the 1980s. Looking back on my teenage years now as opposed to a few years ago, the overwhelming image of the period in my mind is not one of the northern troubles or of dole queues but of of homogenous youth. Over half the population was under 25 in the mid eighties. Youth was everywhere. God only knows what it would have been like if four hundred thousand mainly young people were not leaving the country between 1981 and 1987.
In 1981 41% of the population of the Republic of Ireland was under 15. The other European countries were already looking at a demographic cloud on the horizon. Ireland would have stood out like a beacon in Our world to anybody who was paying attention. I wasn’t but I do remember being surrounded by other young people everywhere I went and thinking nothing of it.
Today I think less than 40% are under 25. Could be worse of course, The eighties haunt me quite a bit. You never know what you’ve got till its on the way out. Now we’ve got Fine Gael / Labour ‘in power ‘ and all that goes with that today. Empty suits and any not so empty one(s) being busy little bees assuming the peasants won’t notice. Great. I love it. Thank you Fine Gael. I’ll be sure to vote for you next time out. I just love progress.
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