33
Yes.
The vote was in and Ireland had ratified the Treaty of Nice. It was the first time we’d voted on a Saturday, the second time we’d voted on this issue. The way was now clear for expansion, and a slew of new countries could join the European Union. On Shop Street non-nationals were smiling and saying “Hello.” Usually they kept their heads down, looked seriously depressed. I used to blame the weather.
I was en route to visit my mother. I stopped at Griffin’s Bakery and bought an apple tart. As always, there was a queue. A man said,
“The Washington sniper hit again.”
A flurry of speculation and, as is the Irish custom, talk switched back to politics. A woman said,
“That Nice Treaty, it will damage our neutrality.” Another older woman, silent till now, said, a note of wistfulness
