The Roman Empire became official in 27 BC with the Emperor Augustus coming to power.  The Romans were pretty clever and the Western World as we know it can thank it for everything from language to law, architecture to sports.  They liked to spend their time watching gladiators fight each other to the death though,  something that these days we only watch in movies.  

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The 1920's are sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age and were a period of great social change. The pre WW1 culture clashed with a new, exciting era that worshipped youth, money and fun. The music was jazz, the people were beautiful and they lived life to the full.

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The 50's saw the birth of Rock n'Roll and music was never the same again! Having recovered fully from the war years, the 50's were a time of new invention, cheesy movies (The Blob, anyone??)and that wasp waist.

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The Sixties need little introduction - a decade of war, peace and social revolution. The Swinging Sixties saw the rise of the counterculture with feminism, The Beatles, the hippie movement, free love and social unrest all reflecting a decade that urged you to ‘Turn on Tune In and Drop Out.

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Apart from the growth of feminism, civil rights and environmentalism, the 70's are noted for the indiscriminate use of avocado coloured bathroom suites and a fondness for platforms and sideburns. It was also the decade of the first video game and pocket calculator. The pope visited Ireland in 1979 and 300,000 people showed up to say hi!

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The 80’s were the decade of excess with big shoulder pads and even bigger hair.  Back-combing was de rigueur and blue eye shadow was unisex.  The decade saw the birth of MTV and with the help of Michael Jackson, Duran Duran and Madonna, catapulted the music video into superstardom.  The yuppie was born and Thatcher ruled Britain with an iron fist.  Glenroe was one of Ireland’s favourite soaps, shown at 8.30pm every Sunday. 

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The 90's saw the spread of democracy and the world wide web. It witnessed mobile phones go from bricks to match boxes and we watched Baywatch, The Simpsons and Friends as part of our daily routine. Britpop competed with grunge and the rave movement grew ever stronger.

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The noughties were a boom and bust kind of decade.  We loved ‘googling’ ourselves, text speak became all the rage – OMG – LOL – and climate change became a big topic of conversation.  We all started recycling and everyone in Ireland had at least 2 houses.   We first met a small, bespectacled wizard called Harry and we listened to Eminem, Robbie Williams and Britney Spears followed later by Beyonce and Lady GaGa.  Nobody bought records in the shop anymore and we adopted Uggs from Down Under.  Reality TV became a reality and the world hasn’t been the same since although thank God for The Sopranos and The Wire.