No Irish Pete Seeger to rouse our betrayed generation at Oxegen

THE French have a saying that the more things change the more they stay the same. This weekend thousands of young people will flock to the Oxegen music festival at Punchestown, but unlike some such gatherings elsewhere, it does not seem to have any real focus of protest.

The singer Tony Bennett was in Cork during the week, still performing in his 80s. Morning Ireland highlighted his visit and played his song I Left My Heart in San Francisco, which was incredibly popular in the 1960s.

It became the biggest hit among American troops in Vietnam. Most of those left the US from San Francisco, so the title line of the song had a particular resonance with them.