Dion Fanning: Ireland longing for a golden era while also trying to escape the past

As Ireland face Hungary in Dublin, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s discipline collides with fans’ eternal hope for a new football era

A NEW HOPE: Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson during a Republic of Ireland media conference at Abbotstown on Friday. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

We live in dangerous times, where the past is weaponised as an implement to assault the present.

An innocent film of O’Connell Street in the 1950s is not as innocent as it appears when it is posted on social media. Soon the comments will contrast the illusion of peace and happiness in this clip with the anarchy of today. The present is always anarchic in comparison to the past.