We have lost the run of ourselves as we bow to unsustainable aspirations

While most of our parents would probably be unfamiliar with the concept recycling or leading minimalistic lifestyles, they invariably had a practical attitude towards all types of material possessions.

Those who were financially secure still tended to patch, darn, paint or repair before discarding either an item of clothing or a piece of furniture.

The ideology of contemporary Irish people was undoubtedly influenced by the Celtic Tiger Era