Royal wedding - Celebrity culture wins

HOW times have changed. There was a day when Irish people would have greater interest in the beatification of a pope than a royal wedding. Not anymore.

In contrast with an era when relatively few would admit watching such a quintessentially British fairytale as today’s marriage of Kate Middleton and heir-to-the-throne Prince William, a considerable slice of Ireland’s female population, and a fair scattering of men to boot, will be among an estimated 2 billion global TV audience. But how many will be watching TV on Sunday when Pope Benedict XVI beatifies Polish-born Pope John Paul II, a major step towards canonisation?

It’s an open-ended question and not intended to draw a distinction between such events. Rather it is posed to illustrate how the ephemeral celebrity phenomenon has transformed the very ethos of modern society.