Barely a decade into the peace process, and the speed with which Ireland is achieving closure would impress any psychiatrist. If it's not God Save the Queen being played at Croke Park without incident, it's Ian Paisley being invited to visit the Battle of the Boyne site as the Republic's friendly guest, writes Frank McNally
The latest and arguably most dramatic example of progress was at this week's Fáilte Ireland tourist fair, during which several hundred Irish and overseas guests were entertained with a lavish re-enactment of Ireland's earliest celebrity wedding: the one between Strongbow and Aoife Mac Murrough. In case you've forgotten, this was what started the whole trouble. But we're so over that now.
The Fáilte Ireland people spared no expense in turning the grounds of Royal Hospital Kilmainham into a medieval tented village for the event. In fact, in the one area where they could have saved a few bob - by digging medieval-style toilets - they abandoned authenticity and hired top-of-the-range portaloos instead.
Apart from that, it was 1169 all over again, as wenches and vassals in period dress attended the wedding guests' every need. The main course at the reception was roast pig. Animals not on the menu included a live falcon and two polecat ferrets, which were being walked around on leads. Among the pavilions, there was an exhibit of the latest fashions in chain-mail. And the evening was rounded off with a jousting tournament.
The sun that bathed the RHK in glory all evening had gone down by then. Whereupon, as if to impress the overseas visitors further, a full moon rose serenely over Kilmainham. Only the rapidly plummeting air temperatures hinted at Ireland's shortcomings as a tourist venue. But even this was not a problem. In one final expense, also at the cost of period authenticity, Fáilte Ireland had supplied all the spectators with state-of-the-art thermal blankets.
It was a big week all round for the Irish tourist industry. While the sun shone in Dublin, it was also shining in the west when the US television network NBC flew in on Tuesday to broadcast The Today Show live from Galway and the Cliffs of Moher.
As anchorman Matt Lauer told his estimated six million viewers, it was a day "straight out of the [ Galway] Chamber of Commerce literature". Rarely can so many people have been so fooled about the realities of the Irish climate.
While the Chamber of Commerce could relax for once about the weather, it must have tensed up when Lauer set one of the show's segments against the backdrop of the River Corrib. This looked like the cue for a discussion about the water crisis. But the city fathers needn't have worried. From the way the presenter repeatedly pronounced the word "Corrib" - with the stress on the second syllable - it was clear this would not be an in-depth investigation.
Lauer also picked up on the theme of closure, as it happened. In an interview with The Pope's Children author David McWilliams, he heard that there was a generation of Irish people now growing up who had no sense of "victimhood". Putting this into perspective for his viewers, Lauer suggested the emergence of the new Ireland must have been like "like the Red Sox finally winning the World Series".
But you got the feeling that NBC wasn't all that interested in the new Ireland. Americans have a cherished image of the old Ireland that no amount of propaganda will change. Indeed, the imperviousness of the US world view was illustrated by the obligatory segment in which the NBC crew had some adult fun with name of that famous sea-going vessel, the Galway Hooker.
The programme's co-anchors in New York teed Lauer up with a risqué question on the subject. The presenter responded gamely that you could hire Galway Hookers "by the hour". And so on, until he let his US viewers in on the joke by explaining he was talking about a boat. Then he added - with no humorous intent whatsoever - that one of the hookers was waiting nearby to take him for a "ride".
Explaining to him the various meanings of the Hiberno-English verb "to ride" would have been as pointless, you sensed, as telling him where to put the stress in "Corrib". At any rate, having noted that this was a transformed Ireland, the programme went on to include segments on Aran sweaters and leprechauns, and to note approvingly that one of the country's new motorways had been diverted to avoid a "fairy tree".
On the other hand, it also reported dramatic improvements in the national cuisine.
Viewers were assured that we "don't boil anything" these days (except in some cases our drinking water, as the programme failed to add).
And there was some refreshingly frank advice on the subject of driving here. Visitors thinking of hiring a car in Ireland were advised that they would either "crash" or "cause a crash". Public transport was strongly recommended.
Despite this ominous note, The Today Show's visit was a major coup for Irish tourism. The main crash risk in its aftermath was on websites like Aerlingus.com, which reported its busiest day this year in the US. NBC claimed the coverage was worth $45 million in advertising, even without taking the sunshine into account. It'll be raining again next week of course. But the Americans are coming.