IF YOU LEFT your twenties behind in 2018 or will be turning 30 before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’re probably in the midst of, or indeed, bracing yourself for an existential crisis of sorts.

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Sadly, we can’t help you out on that front; it’s an unfortunate inevitability.

What we can do, however, is offer you some pop culture references from the year you made your grand entrance.

Allow us to distract you with the songs, films and books people were only mad about back in 1988.

Here we go…

The tracks

The longest any song stayed in the No.1 slot in Ireland in 1988 was a fairly impressive four weeks. And interestingly, four tracks shared this prestigious honour the year you were born.

• The Boys in Green: Republic of Ireland Soccer Squad

• Desire: U2

• Orinoco Flow (Sail Away): Enya

• Mistletoe and Wine: Cliff Richard

We’ve made an executive decision here and opted to bring you the unmistakable sound of Enya.

The TV

1988 was a big year for Irish television. Well, you know, relatively speaking.

• In April, the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast was from the RDS, and won by Celine Dion with her entry Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.

• In September, RTÉ 2 became Network 2. Big moment, guys.

• And in October, we were introduced to the gang in Summer Bay as Home and Away made its debut on Irish television.

In the States, the following five shows were the most popular of the year.

• The Cosby Show

• Roseanne

• A Different World

• Cheers

• 60 Minutes

And while that’s all well and good, we’re more interested in this lot.

The films

In 1988, the highest grossing movie of the year was Rain Man with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. It won four Oscars, with Dustin Hoffman taking home the Best Actor accolade.

Feast your eyes here, sure.

The books

In 1988, the world was particularly gripped by Anne Rice’s The Queen of the Damned.

The third instalment in the author’s Vampire Chronicles series, the book spent three weeks on The New York Times Bestsellers List.

The following also dominated the NY Times Bestsellers List; how many have you read?

• The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

• Zoya by Danielle Steel

• The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy

The celebrity births 

Here are some of the biggest stars to celebrate their 30th birthdays in 2018.

Spoiler; you’re in good company.

• Rihanna

• Adele

• Emma Stone

• Michael Cera

• Hayley Williams

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The celebrity weddings and divorces

Some of these couples hit their 30th anniversary this year while others ended in the divorce courts, but back in 1988 they were mere newlyweds.

Here are the biggest celebrity unions from the year you were born.

• Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

• Mike Tyson and Robin Givens

• Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis

• Michael J Fox and Tracy Pollan

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And now for the divorces

While the couples above were celebrating their status as newlyweds, the following couples decided it was time to cut ties and head to the divorce courts.

• Bruce Springsteen and Julianne Phillips

• Mike Tyson and Robin Givens (They didn’t make it to their one-year anniversary with Robin citing spousal abuse when filing for divorce.)

• Robin Williams and Valerie Velardi

• John Kerry and Julia Stimson Thorne

And the defining moment of 1988? Aside from your birth, that is?

When Ireland beat England one-nil at the European Football Championships in Germany, obviously.

Yep, the game what was immortalised in Christy Moore’s Joxer Goes to Stuttgart.

Take a look at this…

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