Here’s a fascinating little debate you can have right now with a friend - sat on your barstool, on your sofa, or in a coffee shop.

Name me three living Irish people who can be classed as national treasures.

To help you out, I’ll give you a definition: A public figure regarded as being emblematic of a nation’s cultural heritage or identity.

I would broaden that, and define a national treasure as someone who has achieved enduring greatness in a chosen field, who has been a figure of public interest for a long time without blemish, and whose appeal is multi-generational, indisputable, and widespread.

I imagine President Michael D. Higgins would be in many people’s top three, but probably the only political candidate. That field is just too tribal to claim a national treasure.

Who else?

Tricky enough, don’t you think?

Christy Moore perhaps. And Mary Robinson. Both are in the right demographic, and the latter’s career has transcended politics

I can think of a good few who nearly make the cut.

From acting, I would suggest Liam Neeson, Fiona Shaw, and Brendan Gleeson are just a few years short of the national treasure title. Ditto for comedians and the likes of Tommy Tiernan.

Writers? Roddy Doyle has the making of national treasurehood for sure, but not just yet.

Sport? I can hear lots of your calls for Roy Keane, surely destined to be a national treasure in the future - but for now his appeal is just too parochially Cork, and too divisive. After all, his exit from Saipan was only 8,392 days ago!

I would contend we have lost a good few national treasures in recent years, such as Maeve Binchy, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Gay Byrne, Sinead O’Connor,........

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