THE year 2022 AD – will we sigh nostalgically over the past twelve months or shake our fists and mutter “Good bloody riddance”? Maybe both.

The big international event of 2022, of course, was Russia invading Ukraine. This was presented as a clear white v black issue, with Russia wearing the black hat. If half the reports of what Russian soldiers did in Ukraine are true, Russia has a lot to answer for. But you'll  notice that Western media avoided the notion that in 2014 there might have been a coup against the democratically-elected government in Ukraine, and that just as the US gets jumpy when hostile states develop close to their borders (Cuba, Chile, Venezuela), Russia doesn’t welcome the idea of a West-leaning, Nato-sympathising Ukraine on its doorstep either. Just sayin’, like.

At home, Americans in 2022 proved that they respect tradition – particularly the tradition of citizens being allowed to bear arms. The result was that Salvador Ramos was able to shoot dead his grandmother, then travel to Robb elementary school and shoot dead nineteen children in the school and six of their teachers.

Ten days earlier, Payton S. Gendron shot dead ten black people in a Buffalo supermarket.  All this and lots, lots more made possible by the powerful gun lobby in Washington and the tendency of the Republican party to roll over and have its tummy rubbed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), even when this results in repeated slaughter of innocents. 

September 2022 also saw Boris Johnson say “Hasta la vista, baby!” to 10 Downing Street. Liz Truss rushed in where angels fear to tread, along with her Chancellor  Kwasi Kwarteng, to announce her plans for the British economy. The stock markets took one look and promptly went into meltdown.

Back in Blighty,  September 2022 saw the death of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth. Prince Charles, for reasons best known to himself, marked the event by visiting different parts of the UK, including our own dear stateen. Even though there was sympathy for Charles – none of us would relish getting our first job at seventy-three – there were some stifled giggles when Charles lost the bap in Hillsborough over a leaky pen. 

September 2022 also saw Boris Johnson say “Hasta la vista, baby!” to 10 Downing Street. Liz Truss rushed in where angels fear to tread, along with her Chancellor  Kwasi Kwarteng, to announce her plans for the British economy. The stock markets took one look and promptly went into meltdown.

Result:  Liz and Kwasi were out of a job by October, having lasted all of 44 days. Rishi Sunak, bolstered by his massive personal wealth, took over. And yes, Virginia, you might say that in Britain, 2022 was the year of three prime ministers and a funeral.

Here in Ireland, the month of May brought another funeral of a kind: the death of unionist majority rule in the North. Unable to cope with the loss of unionism’s century-old sceptre, Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP declared they couldn’t go into an executive because they didn’t like the Protocol bit that Boris Johnson had inserted in the Withdrawal Act. Not fair, not nice. Even though the Protocol gives NEI access to UK markets and EU markets, Jeffrey claimed it was treating NEI differently from the rest of the UK. The very idea of part of a country being partitioned off from the rest gave Jeffrey a sick feeling (less hooting at the back there). As did the thought of being deputy First Minister to Michelle O’Neill, but of course he didn’t say that.

And 2023 – what can we expect from that? More buyer’s remorse in the UK over Brexit, as the sunlit uplands turn into a gloomy cul-de-sac full of nasty surprises. Here in Ireland, a gathering volume of voices urging preparation for a border poll on constitutional change for Ireland can be heard. In the UK,  rejoining the EU single market is being more and more openly discussed. 

And finally – oh, parting is such sweet sorrow – Donald Trump will take his sorry ass out of the US political arena,  leaving the Democrats to face up to the latest Republican nut-job that replaces him. 

Stop crying, Virginia. It was ever thus. Happy New Year.