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Stories from the Celtic Tiger Years Mod Warning in OP PLEASE READ

chops018

Does anyone have any good (or bad) stories from the Celtic Tiger years?

You always hear phrases about how people partied etc., was there just a constant flow of credit available to people and people actually taking the money e.g. was there actually teachers on circa €30k a year buying a house and car and an apartment somewhere.

I was in school and college during these years, graduated into the recession, so I didn't really see what was fully going on at the time bar the fact everyone was working and had money. My dad was working on the buildings on great money and my mam was working away also, we were never stuck really money-wise, also rent seemed to be a lot cheaper back then and fuel and also my college fees were only around €800 a year along with wages being fairly similar to what they are now (from what I can remember anyway, will stand corrected if I am wrong)

Mod warning: Any further discussion of Financial institutions in depth will result in a thread ban. Do not derail this thread with that form of discussion.

Threadbanned users:
Randy Archer
ShatterAlan

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Zebra3

Randy Archer wrote: »

It’s the truth . Anyway, what would the wurkin class and the class warriors know about “classy”

You stay classy , brah

I've more class than to lump monkey and foreigner in together the way you did.

completedit

Reading the Pope's children here after going through this thread. Indulgence and arrogance is a horrible mix and seems there was plenty of it during the celtic tiger. We were like the teenager from a strict family who goes on the tear once they get a bit of freedom *

Not a Dave McWilliam's analogy

dublinman1990

I have seen a few teslas & Toyota hybrid jeeps going around south Dublin even in the times that we live in now when we are still battling Covid. I don't think a good lot of Irish people have really learned their lessons this time round regarding how to have money saved for a rainy day when you really really needed it. I would still think that the large remnants of greed are still alive & well in this country with people being more arrogant for having it on them while not knowing the consequences of losing more of it later on when **** hits the fan once again.

PhilOssophy

There is and will always be people who can't manage money.....

Claw Hammer

PhilOssophy wrote: »

There is and will always be people who can't manage money.....

The real problem was not people not managing money, it was their behaviour when they had it. They were far too ostentatious, lacking discretion and vulgar.

talla10

Claw Hammer wrote: »

The real problem was not people not managing money, it was their behaviour when they had it. They were far too ostentatious, lacking discretion and vulgar.

No matter how much money people have you can't buy class.

The only real surprise in hindsight was that it lasted as long as it did

Claw Hammer

talla10 wrote: »

No matter how much money people have you can't buy class.

They did buy class. Kids sent walking up and down the housing in the private school uniforms to make sure the neighbours knew where they were going to school.

PhilOssophy

Claw Hammer wrote: »

They did buy class. Kids sent walking up and down the housing in the private school uniforms to make sure the neighbours knew where they were going to school.

Is that your understanding of class? The thing about class and wealth is classy people don't show their wealth.

Claw Hammer

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Is that your understanding of class? The thing about class and wealth is classy people don't show their wealth.

I didn't say it was my understanding, I am saying that is what I saw during the CT.

hoodie6029

Sweet jesus, take your class warfare to another thread. This was great reading before that rubbish started.

SchrodingersCat

Il try and bring the thread back on track.

I tipped around as a laborer on the building sites during the boom. Every summer I would spend a few months sweeping here, tidying there, tending to the brickies. The money was ridiculous. The couple of months that I spent on the sites would pay for the rest of my year in college. The fact that I was hired told you that they were stuck for anyone to work on the sites. I knew lads who would come in with half the day already gone stinking of drink and not get fired because there was no one to replace them. There were a few sad stories too, I knew of one lad who would spend most of his cheque on the horses down in the bookies.

The most ridiculous Celtic Tiger thing was when our company messed up the calculation of our overtime. For about two months, instead of getting paid time-and-a-half for the first few hours of overtime, we were getting paid double-time (2x pay). It was the same for double time. I couldnt get a lift home in the evenings until late, so I used to have a nice quiet time holding a brush walking around the site after everyone else had gone home. Needless to say this all changed when everyone started working overtime and coming in on Saturdays too.

This kept going until this stupid eejit in our group complained that he didnt get paid for an hour of overtime that he had worked. He whined to all of us, but when we wouldnt give him the time of day he decided to bring it up with the boss. He showed him the pay check. The boss asked him why he was getting double time when it was supposed to be time and a half. He said "sure everyone is getting that". :mad:
We were ragin at him after that, nearly as much as the boss was to the wife who did the accounts. He had to leave the site after a week or so from the threats.

The fact that the subcontractor could afford them wages and not even notice showed you how much money was in that industry at that time.

Claw Hammer

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

This kept going until this stupid eejit in our group complained that he didnt get paid for an hour of overtime that he had worked. He whined to all of us, but when we wouldnt give him the time of day he decided to bring it up with the boss. He showed him the pay check. The boss asked him why he was getting double time when it was supposed to be time and a half. He said "sure everyone is getting that". :mad:
We were ragin at him after that, nearly as much as the boss was to the wife who did the accounts. He had to leave the site after a week or so from the threats.

The fact that the subcontractor could afford them wages and not even notice showed you how much money was in that industry at that time.

Why didn't ye all chip in 50c and shut the gob****e up? You were the bigger eejits.

Abel Ruiz

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I think we should be as wary of outlandish examples of excess privilege as we normally are of the social-welfare-bashing threads.

Right on dude. Right on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Necro

Mod:

Randy Archer do not post in this thread again.

Rest of you back on topic, any of the class nonsense and further sanctions will be forthcoming

Abel Ruiz

John_Rambo wrote: »

He's been succeeding in failure for a long time now, he wrote a Eurovision song that came last, he was an unsuccessful Independent candidate, he refused to use email when it came out (what a pro), he supported the invasion of Iraq in the belief that there were weapons of mass destruction, opposed gay marriage, claimed there's no such thing as depression, blamed catholic clerical child abuse on gay people and was imprisoned because he didn't pay a parking fine because he felt he'd returned to his car only shortly after the grace period.

And people still employ him.

Thats not quite true. He questioned if some people were saying they were depressed when they were sad.
I listened to a great interview on Eamon Dunphy's The Stand. Very interesting.
And you get to see how he went bananas.
And then a few months after that interview he was on with Eamon again and lost his mind and ran out, gas stuff altogether!

Leg End Reject

The Celtic Tiger for me - yummy mummies in SUVs, those in Range Rovers thinking they were superior, anyone working in construction laughing at those who didn't and saying they earned more, decking, getting on the property ladder, moving from a semi d to a detached, people dressed head to toe in designer clothes with matching sunglasses, you were told it was Farrow and Ball paint, Denby crockery became essential for many, jet skis, quad bikes, shopping trips to New York, obscure Irish names and double-barrelled surnames became popular, people proudly stating they were middle class, many suddenly became avid rugby fans, getting someone in to clean your house and making sure everyone knew, Mc mansions sprung up everywhere and pubs, clubs and restaurants were packed.

SchrodingersCat

Claw Hammer wrote: »

Why didn't ye all chip in 50c and shut the gob****e up? You were the bigger eejits.

We didn't think he was stupid enough to bring it up with the boss. Saying that, even if we did, the lads (myself included) wouldn't have given him a penny. It would have been easier for everyone involved to threaten him not to go to the boss in the first place. That way he wouldnt have to leave his job afterwards too.

Claw Hammer

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

We didn't think he was stupid enough to bring it up with the boss. Saying that, even if he did, the lads (myself included) wouldn't have given him .

So you read him wrong. Fat lot of good it did chasing him off site after the event.

Littlehorny

Mate of mine was manager of a large Super Valu in Dublin at the time. Met him in the local one evening and he told me he had quit because he was earning twice as much labouring for a few plasterers.

Don't know if this is a reflection of construction at the time or SuperValu being sh**e payers.

[Deleted User]

Littlehorny wrote: »

Mate of mine was manager of a large Super Valu in Dublin at the time. Met him in the local one evening and he told me he had quit because he was earning twice as much labouring for a few plasterers.

Don't know if this is a reflection of construction at the time or SuperValu being sh**e payers.

My father has a business and on the odd occasion would cash cheques for one or two labourers we would have known at the time if they were stuck. Some of the cheques were 1,200e and more. Needless to say those lads never saved a penny of it and, unfortunately, I see one of them is now a heroin addict roaming the streets. Very sad.

BattleCorp

I used to work as a bar manager in a golf club/hotel back around 2002 - 2004. We used to have several ahem.....big shots..... in staying the night.

One particularly famous one (now deceased) had a habit of getting drunk in the residents bar and asking everyone out to the putting green (adjacent to the hotel) to join him for champagne and sandwiches/breakfast baps (at about 3am or 4am) and the night porter would have to set up a table with champagne etc. outside on the putting green and then go make sandwiches/breakfast baps. A bottle of champagne was €85 and they could go through between 5 - 30 of them, depending on the size of the group. All added to his bill.

He really was a pain in the hole and the staff didn't like him but he spent a right few bob so management were willing to put up with his sh1te.

One More Toy

Thinking back I was a little pr1ck during the celtic tiger, all the clothes my mother bought me had to be designer as I wanted to be seen at school.

I wondered why we only had a 4 year old car.

Then a life threatening event happened after the bust. Now I own next to nothing, clothes all out of penny's.

Couldn't give a toss about anything materialistic anymore. I try to pay my mother 'reperations' almost to make up for the snob I was.

Really embarrassed at how I acted even to this day

Leg End Reject

One More Toy wrote: »

Thinking back I was a little pr1ck during the celtic tiger, all the clothes my mother bought me had to be designer as I wanted to be seen at school.

I wondered why we only had a 4 year old car.

Then a life threatening event happened after the bust. Now I own next to nothing, clothes all out of penny's.

Couldn't give a toss about anything materialistic anymore. I try to pay my mother 'reperations' almost to make up for the snob I was.

Really embarrassed at how I acted even to this day

That's all normal enough for a teen conforming to peer pressure, it was different for people doing it from 25-50+ when they should have had a better sense of themselves.

BattleCorp

Leg End Reject wrote: »

That's all normal enough for a teen conforming to peer pressure, it was different for people doing it from 25-50+ when they should have had a better sense of themselves.

When I was a teen (not today or yesterday) I wanted a pair of New Balance football boots because they looked cool. They were £28 and I was told they were too dear. Awful upset I was. Never got them. Need counselling now because of it. :pac:

My missus told me yesterday that her friend bought a pair of Yeezy runners for her young wan at the weekend. Fcukin ugly yokes and €350 for the pair, a bargain apparently. :eek::eek::eek:

Times have certainly changed.

SchrodingersCat

Claw Hammer wrote: »

So you read him wrong. Fat lot of good it did chasing him off site after the event.

Anyones head would be melted trying to read this lad. Even though you sound like the exception, its easy to be a Captain Hindsight in a thread about the Celtic Tiger.

Kotek Besar

I worked as a waiter in a restaurant in Waterford in 2006. I got paid €500 a week, cash. Many weeks my boss would pay me a single €500 note. It was awesome.

Tips were around €250 a week, as I recall. Customers wouldn't think twice about leaving a €20 note on the table.

Happy times.

dublinman1990

BattleCorp wrote: »

When I was a teen (not today or yesterday) I wanted a pair of New Balance football boots because they looked cool. They were £28 and I was told they were too dear. Awful upset I was. Never got them. Need counselling now because of it. :pac:

My missus told me yesterday that her friend bought a pair of Yeezy runners for her young wan at the weekend. Fcukin ugly yokes and €350 for the pair, a bargain apparently. :eek::eek::eek:

Times have certainly changed.

Fruugo.ie has them for €699. I know it's optional to buy them but are they mad?

https://www.fruugo.ie/adidas-yeezy-boost-700-wave-runner-b75571-shoes/p-24554457-53245002?language=en

BattleCorp

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Fruugo.ie has them for €699. I know it's optional to buy them but are they mad?

https://www.fruugo.ie/adidas-yeezy-boost-700-wave-runner-b75571-shoes/p-24554457-53245002?language=en

The ones she picked look even worse than that. Yeezy Citrin.

https://restocks.eu/p/adidas-yeezy-boost-350-v2-citrin?size_id=38&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3-23wNmn6gIVWuztCh0y4QueEAQYAiABEgIwnPD_BwE

One More Toy

Leg End Reject wrote: »

That's all normal enough for a teen conforming to peer pressure, it was different for people doing it from 25-50+ when they should have had a better sense of themselves.

Thanks but I still cringe at myself, I once told my mum her salary wasn't good enough. What a d1ckhead I was.

Making up for it now though so alls good

Leg End Reject

One More Toy wrote: »

Thanks but I still cringe at myself, I once told my mum her salary wasn't good enough. What a d1ckhead I was.

Making up for it now though so alls good

If you weren't a dickhead as a teenager you weren't doing it right!