Irish Examiner View: Spain's story has many lessons for us

Could we imagine a 32-county flag other than the one that will be so proudly flown at Croke Park tomorrow? Picture: Denis Minihane.

The stories of Spain and Ireland have overlapped for centuries. Apart from the weather, we have many, many things in common and maybe, in the heel of the hunt, we are lucky that we do not share Spain’s weather. Scientists predict southern Spain will be reduced to desert this century if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked.

It’s nearly half a millennium since the 1588 Spanish Armada reached our shores. As many as 24 ships were wrecked between Antrim and Kerry. Some 6,000 members of the fleet perished in Ireland, either put to death or drowned.