In honour of Ken Doherty's great job in qualifying for his 19th World Snooker Championship, I've trawled through the archives, scarring my eyes, ears and brain in the process, to bring you this collection of things that people went mad for in 1997.
Snooker, I guess
We do love a world champion in Ireland. I was eight when Ken won and I distinctly remember beginning a brief obsession with the game, playing daily on a half-size table at home until I realised I was dogshit at it - snooker is bloody difficult, especially when one of your eyes is half as sharp as the other, giving you Francesco Schettino-like depth perception. The obsession ended, but the affection for Doherty remained.
The Ranelagh maestro overcame Stephen Hendry 18-12 in the final to take the Crucible crown, and didn't he look youthful?
Ronnie O'Sullivan was pretty amazing in that championship, too. The Rocket earned his nickname by bludgeoning in a maximum break in 5 minutes 20 seconds against Mick Price.
Ear-biting
Ah, Michael. The world lost its collective rag over this one. Like the rest of this list, we can only imagine the social media reaction to the champ's chomp today. This was the second bout between the pair, after Holyfield achieved a shock victory in November 1996. Tyson of course received a well-deserved DQ for his actions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unpMEvEZXAA
Clare hurlers and the Back Door
The newfangled Championship layout was was no 'Champions League Format', but it allowed the fist-ever all-Munster All-Ireland final. Tipp couldn't avenge their Munster final defeat to the Banner - Clare prevailed in Croker with a thrilling one-point victory. It was their second Liam McCarthy triumph in three years.
Eco-warriors in the Glen of the Downs
When you're heading down the N11 past Bray and a travelling companion says "Jaysus, do you remember the time when all the crusties were up in the trees? When was that?" Well, now you can confidently tell them that it started in 1997. The valiant occupation came to an end after two years and the road was widened with much less disruption than was feared.
Hanson
Yep, they came on the scene in 1997. Sorry.
The Spice Girls
This lot made their bow a year earlier, but they were still a massive draw for a good while after.
Radiohead
It wasn't all androgynous teen siblings and carefully-selected mime merchants, thankfully. OK Computer hit the shelves in '97.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPLEbAVjiLA
Oasis
As did Be Here Now
The idea that Bertie was 'a grand fella'
Here's an actual quote from the man himself on taking power in 1997: "No-one is welcome in the party if they betray the public trust. I say this and I mean this with every fibre of my being."
In fairness, Ireland wasn't the only country taken in by the perceived charms of a youngish, soundbite-offering, truth-massaging go-getter...
New Labour
The fact that these lads came across as somewhat refreshing speaks volumes about the inherent naffness of politics, and what a seemingly endless period of Tory domination will do to people's sensibilities. They may have been a breath of fresh air, but the honeymoon feeling wouldn't last forever.
An early task for the fresh-faced new PM was to articulate the jaw-dropping levels of public grief felt by a lot of people over the death of popular anti-landmine campaigner Diana Spencer, who was married to yer man off Spitting Image.
Two-in-a-row Mayo final defeat heartbreak
Actually, this isn't specific to 1997 at all.
Being so famous that people had to shoot you
Fashion designer Gianni Versace and rapper Notorious B.I.G. were both gunned down in '97. The former was mowed down in a truly bizarre attack, while Biggie's demise was of course part of a long-standing feud thing. Anyway, Versace's assassination provided the basis for an all-time favourite Father Dougal McGuire quote:
"Do you remember that fella who was so good at fashion, they had to shoot him?"
Well, that was a reference to Versace.
Roberto Carlos
We all tried to copy this one in the playground. If memory serves me correctly he scored precious few others. The famous banana shot was of course in Brazil's Tournoi de France match against the host nation. The Tournoi was a one-off proto-Confederations Cup held as a warmup for the World Cup the following year. England won the thing, which remains their only international honour since 1966.
Dolly the sheep
Managing to make a copy of the most indistinguishable of mammals was big scientific news in 1997. Apparently that's her pictured above.
Brian Kerr doing wonders with Ireland underage teams
The Greener was still flying high with his underage charges in 1997, his under 20 squad finished third at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia. They lost out to Argentina in the semi-finals, but claimed bronze by beating Ghana.
The squad was something of a who's who of the League of Ireland of the 2000s - Colin Hawkins, Glenn Crowe, Neale Fenn, Trevor Molly and Dessie Baker were among the standout names. Damien Duff was a star player, too.
Cringeworthy films
Cringing at old films isn't exactly the preserve of 1997, but bugger me there were some beauts - Batman and Robin, Titanic and the Full Monty just being a few.
For this writer's money, the year was saved somewhat by Boogie Nights, Liar Liar and Men in Black - no?
Tiger Woods
The 21-year-old Tiger really exploded onto the stuffy '90s golf scene in 1997, ripping up Augusta and winning the Masters by an improbable twelve strokes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDu5CmsW-Eo
Speaking of crap films, Tiger's Green Jacket win inspired one of the most hilarious made-for-TV biopics you'll ever see. I can't bloody well find a clip of it anywhere, but have a look if you come across it. Your eyes will hate you for viewing, but you have to.
