Hymns: 2010 Memories

As with the 2000s, and most of the 1990s, I spent the 2010s in Tipperary Christian Fellowship. We weren’t into modern worship songs. We did learn some 1990s songs towards the end of the 2010s, and one of our hymn books, Christian Hymns, featured some modern songs by Stuart Townend and Keith & Kristyn Getty. I still prefer the older hymns, but I do try to take an interest in contemporary Christian music. I suspect some of them will last for decades to come. In this series, I list some of the big worship songs published each year. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I like them much, but I am doing my best 😀. I like how songs mark time. I emotionally bond with older songs, but maybe some of these will mean more to me in the future 😀. It would be awful if the younger generation took no interest in worship music or saw worship as something that belonged to the past.

2010

2010 was also the year in which Youghal Baptist Church was formed. It was great to see so many new churches popping up around Cork, my hometown.

Our family went to see Paul McCartney that summer in the RDS Dublin. It felt amazing. I had seen him at Live Aid in 1985. I’d never have thought that he’d still be performing in 2010, but he’s still performing now in 2025 😀. I also went to see Paul Weller at the Marquee in Cork. Bob Dylan also performed at Thomond Park, Limerick that year. I didn’t actually go in, but I heard most of it from outside, while waiting for family members. I had seen him in Earl’s Court, London back in 1981. Again, I thought 1981 was the end of his career, but he’ll be performing in Killarney in November of this year.

I remember seeing Avatar, which was the first in a series of modern 3D films. I had seen a couple of 3D movies in the past, but this one was amazing. I think the trend has stopped now, but quite a lot of films were in 3D during the 2010s. I havn’t been to the cinema since the Covid lockdown.

I bought an acoustic guitar in 2010 or was it 2016? Maybe I started thinking about getting one in 2010 and finally got it in 2016. Typical me 😀. I had an electric one since 2002. In the latter part of the decade, I alternated between my acoustic guitar and the keyboard in Tipperary Christian Fellowship. Some songs worked better with the guitar. I even started leading the singing. I can’t imagine myself doing that nowadays.

Finding pop songs that I was familiar with in the 2010s is a challenge – but I’ll do my best 😀. Here goes:

10 Songs of 2010

• Fireflies – Owl City
• Empire State of Mind – Alicia Keys
• Parachute – Cheryl Cole
• ​No Tears to Cry​ – Paul Weller
• The Flood – Katie Melua
• ​California Gurls – Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg
• ​It’s Not War – Manic Street Preachers
• ​Make You Feel My Love​ – Adele
• The Flood – Take That​
• Christmas Lights – Coldplay​

“History Maker” by the British Christian rock band Delirious entered the UK Singles Chart in April 2010. It was released following a grassroots Facebook campaign aimed at getting the song into the charts for Easter that year. It reached number 4 on April 4th. The only other worship song that I remember making the UK charts was a Graham Kendrik song from 1989 – Let the Flame Burn Brighter, which reached 55. I remember us singing that in Tipperary around 2017. Here they are anyway – judge for yourself which one is best 😀.

10 Movies or TV Shows of 2010

• Toy Story 3
• Iron Man 2
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• The Social Network
• Black Swan
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• The King’s Speech
• Downton Abbey (UK TV Show)
• Sherlock (UK TV Show)
• Great British Railway Journeys (UK TV Shows)

10 News Events from 2010

• Irish Economic Crisis & IMF Bailout Ireland’s financial collapse led to an €85 billion bailout from the EU and IMF, marking a dramatic fall from its “Celtic Tiger” status
• Haiti Earthquake (12 January) A devastating 7.0 magnitude quake struck near Port-au-Prince, killing over 230,000 and displacing millions
• China Becomes World’s Largest Exporter (January) Surpassing Germany, China marked a new era in global trade dominance
• Apple Launches the iPad (3 April) A game-changing device that redefined mobile computing and media consumption
• Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Eruption (April) Ash clouds disrupted European air travel for weeks, grounding thousands of flights.
• WikiLeaks Document Dumps (July–November) Massive leaks of U.S. military and diplomatic documents sparked global controversy and debate over transparency
• Chile Mine Rescue (October) After 69 days underground, 33 Chilean miners were dramatically rescued, captivating the world
• Eurozone Debt Crisis Intensifies Greece received a €110 billion bailout amid fears of contagion across Europe.
• Pakistan Floods (July–September) Monsoon rains caused catastrophic flooding, affecting over 20 million people.
• Suicide Bombing in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan (1 January) Over 95 people were killed at a volleyball match in one of the year’s deadliest attacks

10 Famous People Who Passed Away in 2010

• Gerry Ryan (30 April) – One of Ireland’s most beloved broadcasters, known for The Gerry Ryan Show on RTÉ 2FM
• Eugene Lambert (22 February) – Puppeteer and founder of the Lambert Puppet Theatre, famous for Bosco and Wanderly Wagon
• Malcolm McLaren (8 April) – Punk rock pioneer and manager of the Sex Pistols and New York Dolls
• Lynn Redgrave (2 May) – Acclaimed English actress, known for Georgy Girl and numerous stage roles
• Sir Norman Wisdom (4 October) – British comedian and actor, beloved for slapstick roles in post-war cinema
• Sir Geoffrey Howe (9 October) – Senior Conservative politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Tony Curtis – Hollywood legend known for Some Like It Hot and Spartacus
• Dennis Hopper – Actor and director, iconic for Easy Rider and
• Gary Coleman – Child star of Diff’rent Strokes, known for his catchphrase “Whatchu talkin’ ’bout?”
• J.D. Salinger – Reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye