Conor Skehan: Festive glow might lift morale but it is only masking the collapse of towns across Ireland

Every Christmas we try to go home. We walk the old streets, admire the lights, feel the warmth of memory and ­nostalgia. We meet old friends, drop in to a ­favourite pub, promise to shop local and congratulate ourselves that the town looks good. For these few weeks, our centres glow again. They become the stage sets of our childhood. It is easy to believe that all is well.