Mick Clifford: In the bleak Ireland of the 1980s, we chased the American Dream. How times have changed

Roll on 40 years, and the difference in evolution of our respective societies, our respective democracies, is stark

In the Ireland of the 1980s, the future was across the Atlantic. Picture: AP /Ted Shaffrey

“I was just about 19 when I landed on the shore. With eyes big as headlights like the thousands and thousands who came before.” — Paul Brady, Nothing But The Same Old Story.

JFK Airport, September 1985. Eyes big as headlights sums it up. Stepping off the plane from Shannon was like walking onto a movie set. Get a load of the drawling accents, the guns holstered on hips of uniformed cops, the sheen of politeness worn by all as if they put it on each morning after brushing their great teeth. And every last person in sight is in a hurry like they all know where they were going and can’t wait to get there.