Reeling in the Years: The royal wedding, Miggeldy, and Rihanna running through a field
Following the royal wedding, the queen paid her first state visit to Ireland. Picture: Odd Anderson
Nothing brings the Irish together quite like our shared history - and has been playing a blinder in bringing our memories back to the fore.
The latest series of the hit RTÉ programme made its debut just over a week ago, covering the bailout-filled, Icelandic ash-speckled year that was 2010.
Last night, episode two tackled 2011 - a year marked by protest, emigration, a meltdown in Fukushima, Will and Kate, and a topless Rihanna running through a Bangor field. Here are just a few of the highlights.
The episode opened with the stepping down of former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, as the end of a Fianna Fáil and Green Party coalition drew near.
Micháel Martin joined the general election campaign trail as the new leader of Fianna Fáil, a full decade before he would become Taoiseach, and in what may be the best moment of the episode, a mop-headed 24-year-old Simon Harris nominated Enda Kenny to the position in his first Dáil speech.
Kudos to the music producers, who paired the entire montage with CeeLo Green’s hit Forget You.
Michael D Higgins was a well-seasoned politician long before he moved into the Áras, spending 25 years in the Dáil, nine in the Seanad, and serving as Minister for Arts, mayor of Galway, and councillor during his long career.
He really came to the fore of Irish life in 2011, however, when he was elected president after a long election, which many may have forgotten also included Seán Gallagher, Martin McGuinness, and Dana.
The timely throwback of the teary-eyed president being inaugurated at the end of the episode coincided perfectly with his 80th birthday, which he celebrated yesterday.
In May, then-President Mary McAleese hosted Queen Elizabeth II during the first state visit to Ireland by a British monarch since the republic was founded.
The momentous trip was marked by the Queen speaking in Irish, visiting Croke Park, laying a wreath at the Park of Remembrance in Dublin, and of course, paying a visit to the rebel county.
She was fresh off celebrating a very important occasion during all of this, after her grandson Prince William had married Kate Middleton in a lavish April ceremony that was watched by over 2 billion people worldwide.
By 2011, Barack Obama had already spent a chaotic three years in the US White House. When he and his wife Michelle stopped in Ireland for a whistlestop trip soon after the queen, however, the scenes were similar to those featured in his initial presidential campaign.
People came out in droves to see the US president having a pint of Guinness at his ancestral home of Moneygall and speaking in Dublin, where he gave an inspirational speech for the ages.
In one of the year’s most memorable incidents, pop superstar Rihanna filmed her music video for the song We Found Love in County Down.
Fans flocked to catch a glimpse of the singer spinning around the streets of Bangor and dancing on tables in ‘the chippie’.
The trip is notorious for having to be cut short after the owner of the field they were filming in complained about the singer's nudity.
The best line of the episode went to the local man who went to the chippers for lunch and came out as an extra in one of the most popular music videos of the decade: ‘If I came in here and danced on the tables they’d bar me.’
It was an eventful year for sport, with Ireland taking home the World Cup title in cricket after an unprecedented win and Leinster leaving Cardiff with the Heineken Cup.
On home turf, Kilkenny won the All Ireland hurling final, again, and Dublin began their reign as football champions.
The latter events were recapped to the music of One Direction, who had become solidified stars following their breakout on .
In another of the episode's highlights, a baby-faced Niall Horan asked Ryan Tubridy if he's a legend in Ireland yet.
