Frank Coughlan: Old Ireland is gone, but you can catch a glimpse of it in our traditions

Old Ireland is gone but sometimes you get the chance to glance over your shoulder

You don’t have to hold with any god to be touched by ceremony and ritual like the kind we experienced at an Irish funeral. Photo: Getty

Frank Coughlan

We don’t live in the same country any more. Those old enough to remember another one will attest to that. It happened fairly quickly too. In a few shorts generations Ireland moved from a place of economic stagnation and moral rigidity to something very different.

Mostly that has been good. People being better off is never a bad thing and emerging from a society that was monocultural, insular and morally censorious was a breath of fresh air.