One country making history, one in awe of the past

IT was a tale of two capitals and two futures: As Barack Obama confirmed he would lead history, Ireland’s political elite proved they could merely read history.

While Dublin sought comfort by remembering back to the glorious, brave defiance of the first Dáil, Washington DC boldly moved forward with the audacious hope of the first black president.

President Obama inspired his nation to walk tall from the shadow of despair in the knowledge adversity has forged this to be one of the handful of generations to be tested by the challenge of history.