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FOR Philip Larkin, 1963 was the year when sexual intercourse began, "'Between the end of the Chatterley ban / And the Beatles' first LP". In Ireland, November of that year seemed like the point at which the Sixties began, between the arrival of the Beatles in Dublin and the release of the band's second LP. But, in a way, November was also the month when the Sixties ended.

In November 1963, Ireland witnessed the dizzying possibilities and the horrifying instabilities that were to plague the world for the rest of the decade. November saw the excitement of the Beatles' first visit. They arrived in Dublin on Thursday 7th to play two concerts at the Adelphi cinema. Barely two weeks later, the Irish-American president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was murdered in Dallas, Texas.