Christmas and New Year festivities across the island of Ireland this year will mark a return to the sparkle and communal joy so many missed in 2020.  

Ireland is gearing up for a Christmas season bursting with fairy lights, festivals, and fun. With the relaxing of travel restrictions and the reopening of venues across the island, preparations are underway to celebrate the season in the highest of spirits.

WICKLOW, Ireland – Like many others, I naively believed that, with statistics revealing that 90 percent of the Irish people over age 12 have received their second jab and are, hence, “fully vaccinated” against coronavirus, we could at last put it behind us and resume our lives as normal.  Eventually, we would look back on eighteen months of lockdowns and disruptions as a strange period, when there was a climate of fear, yet equally, when we collectively realised what was most important as we huddled close with our nearest and dearest.