Saoirse na tíre, saoirse an duine

During the 1960s money was scarce. So summer holidays anywhere - Ireland or abroad - were beyond our family’s means. The only destination in continental Europe I knew anything about was the pilgrimage town of Lourdes in southwest France. And that didn't sound like a fun place. If the prospect of a sun holiday on the Costa del Sol never entered my head, I wasn’t completely indifferent to what was going on Europe. In March 1965 Ireland's Butch Moore sang “Walking the Streets in the Rain” in the Eurovision Song Contest. Like many others I was glued to our black-and-white telly when the contest was broadcast live from Naples. Right up to the end of the decade I paid close attention as Dickie Rock, Sean Dunphy, and other big names tried and failed to win the big prize. Eventually, in 1970, a demure teenager from Derry named Dana beat the likes of Mary Hopkin and Julio Iglesias to the top spot. As a youngster my interest in Europe began and ended with pop music. So I knew nothing abo