An economy to rebuild - Horse deal a good lesson for Ireland

Two of today’s stories perfectly illustrate the great, diametrically-opposed challenges facing this society.

One shows what can be done; how we can overcome international competition to secure very significant victories on the global stage. The other, sadly, reveals a sense of something approaching defeat, a feeling of helplessness built on almost endless bad news, a lack of opportunity and, possibly worst of all, the feeling that we are trapped in a downward spiral that we will find very difficult to break out of.

The cheering, glass-half-full story details how China has chosen Ireland to help establish a multibillion-euro national equine centre in one of the country’s largest cities, Tianjin.