Moon visit a step in race for our survival

In a world almost jaded by innovation, it is difficult to convey the awe, the shuddering excitement, the sense of possibility — and the victory for God-on-our-side capitalism, too —provoked by the first moon landing, 50 years ago today. It was, even on flickering, black-and-white televisions, simply jaw-dropping.

You could, as whole neighbourhoods circled televisions wondering if this miracle was to happen, hear a pin drop a street away. Even though the project was driven by the first Irish-American president, John F Kennedy, it is more than difficult to convey the particular, nuanced impact that great Rubicon-crossing event had in Ireland.