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The picture above was taken in the year I was born 1973, I know it's mad it looks like something from the turn of the century . Well I suppose the mad argyle geansaí is fairly seventies, but apart from that it could be any era, any place outside the pale, post famine Ireland.

RTE are running a series at the moment which is about the was family life has changed in the last thirty odd years, it's fascinating, from Nell McCafferty talking about contraception (the condom on the late late show!) to the "Housewife of the Year" contest. What the programme brings home in black and white is just how much we have changed as a nation, now I know Dublin is a separate entity, and we are more European now than Irish, which is a good thing in my opinion, but even the footage from Dublin is shocking.

They have nothing....I mean nothing, we complain about the prices of houses and new cars, while looking through the Argos catalogue or planning a shopping trip to the Big Apple. They had nothing, there was a young newly wed couple, in a tiny flat, with their few meagre processions, the hand me down sofa and bed, tiny two ring stove, electric two bar fire and the "few wedding presents" as the young chap put it. We laugh at the idea of getting a toaster as a wedding present but they were so grateful for it, the few towels (from Frawleys) and a set of crockery! We really don't know how lucky we are, if we wear second hand clothes it's cos they are "vintage" if we get married it's a 30 grand party and honeymoon then back to our three bed semi detached in a pretty satellite town around Dublin. Okay so stuff is expensive, but we still have it! Do you think our young virginal couple went out for meals in town at the weekend or even had a takeaway and a bottle of wine? Nope.

I worry it's all happened so fast we are in danger of forgetting how bad it was, this couple weren't poverty stricken, they could afford to buy a flat, these weren't the people still living in the tenements in around Clanbrassil street or being moved out to Ballymun (to a better life). Sometimes, when i feel a bit cynical about it all i feel like we are in a handcart to hell, I think it's all so out of control, the owning, the possessing the shopping, but then I remember, remember the hand me down clothes, my dad's old banger of a car, not having central heating (coats on the beds in the winter) the coal fire mum had to clean out and set every morning before she went to work (if we have a fire now it's for effect), we also weren't poor, mum worked, dad worked two jobs, I had my first job aged 16.

We all give out about the state of the country, how we have too much of this and not enough spiritual depth, so when we were poorer were we happier....? I know what I think.

Give me new build houses we can afford (even if they are in Cavan), give me working mothers and childcare, give me contraception, give me civil partnerships for all couples regardless of sexual orientation, give me divorce, give me abortion, give me a secular state where the church can't screw us and get away with it!

The Celtic Tiger might have been a bit heavy handed and brought designer babes, drummy mummies and David McWilliams with his funny names for us all (well he's laughing all the way to the bank), but the tiger also squashed a lot of things we are so ashamed of we never mention now. If Joe O'Reilly had killed his wife in 1973 do you think he'd be behind bars?