This is shaping up as the worst in a series of bad years for the tourist industry - probably the most disappointing since 1972 when tourists were scared away by IRA violence. The problem is not so much the numbers of visitors, but the fact that inflation combined with world recession means that those who still take holidays will spend less money.

Rock'n Roll star Mick Jagger appeared at Slane Castle in an innovatively presented Greek-style drama, "The Eighties Meet the Rolling Stones". In an intriguing twist on the traditional spare format of the drama, the chorus alone took the stage, and the main action in this allegory about accepting the passage of time was presented by a very large cast on a grassy hillside before the chorus. Unfortunately , the size of the production left little room for the audience, only ten or fifteen in number, who had to observe from atop the castle itself.