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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)

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PhilOssophy

The Vengaboys, had forgotten all about them.

Ipso

retalivity wrote: »

Actually thats something that you dont see much of anymore...maybe because it was a celtic tiger thing, or maybe because i am now older and dont go out as much - z-list celebs/band playing/appearing in random irish pubs/hotels/nightclubs.

The Vengaboys did a mini-tour of Donegal 06-07, They played Letterkenny 3 times in the space of a year, as well as a host of other more rural clubs. I remember Jodie Marsh, Some lad for 5ive, and Dr Carl from Neighbours knocking around as well

I seem to remember Scooter was supposed to play in the Limelight in Glenties at one point.

CrankyHaus

retalivity wrote: »

Actually thats something that you dont see much of anymore...maybe because it was a celtic tiger thing, or maybe because i am now older and dont go out as much - z-list celebs/band playing/appearing in random irish pubs/hotels/nightclubs.

The Vengaboys did a mini-tour of Donegal 06-07, They played Letterkenny 3 times in the space of a year, as well as a host of other more rural clubs. I remember Jodie Marsh, Some lad for 5ive, and Dr Carl from Neighbours knocking around as well

I think "Influencers" giving your business some shine on the internet has replaced Z-listers showing up.

cms88

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Yeah, its grand for somebody in their 30s to have their pension in volatile share portfolio's, but not somebody who is about to retire.
I often wonder were they greedy themselves or just really badly advised (I suspect the latter in most cases). I am conscious of the mod's note at this juncture though.

Bit of both i would say. Byt like everything from that time people thought they had nothing to worry about.

macscoob

I was paid €620 to go to FAS collage in Sligo.....it was savage!

partyguinness

pgj2015 wrote: »

Yet there are 122,515 polish people living in Ireland according to the last census.:rolleyes:

There was 63,300 polish living in Ireland in 2006.

What percentage have taken out a mortgage and bought a property?

And how many of the 2006 population are still in Ireland.

Poland is a big country of about 38m.

Mickiemcfist

partyguinness wrote: »

What percentage have taken out a mortgage and bought a property?

And how many of the 2006 population are still in Ireland.

Poland is a big country of about 38m.

It doesn't really matter, the question above was "who was going to pay the mortgage" when they left, turns out they either stayed, or were more than replaced by others who'll pay rent towards the mortgage.

BattleCorp

macscoob wrote: »

I was paid €620 to go to FAS collage in Sligo.....it was savage!

I'm guessing you didn't go.

partyguinness

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

It doesn't really matter, the question above was "who was going to pay the mortgage" when they left, turns out they either stayed, or were more than replaced by others who'll pay rent towards the mortgage.

Well it did matter.

Thousands of budding landlords jumped on the buy to let bandwagon buying up all sorts of semi ds in the back of arse of nowhere with the intention of letting them out. That was all well and good when you had a steady and increasing flow of new tenants creating demand to cover the mortgage payments. The future rental income was used by the mortgage providers to assess affordability.

A significant portion of the rental market in the mid 2000s was dependent on eastern europeans. That demand dried up and/or stagnated.

I am sure you have heard of the 'ghost estates' up and down the country. The Cork and Dublin cities will generally hold steady. Not so good if you spent €250k of a shoddy semi d in Tullamore or Ballygobackwards.

Also the country has by and large recovered from the shock in 2007-2010 so comparing the state of play today with 10-13 years ago is not a like for like comparison. The market had to correct itself and a lot of people got burned.

Mickiemcfist

partyguinness wrote: »

A significant portion of the rental market in the mid 2000s was dependent on eastern europeans. That demand dried up and/or stagnated.

Ehh 60k quoted above as the number in ireland at the time, a little over 1% of the population...not exactly a significant portion.
You know irish people lost their jobs too right? And they stopped renting & buying properties.

partyguinness

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

Ehh 60k quoted above as the number in ireland at the time, a little over 1% of the population...not exactly a significant portion.
You know irish people lost their jobs too right? And they stopped renting & buying properties.

A significant portion of the rental market. We are not talking about the overal population.

I am sure you are aware that Eastern Europe is not just Poland. Poland along with 7 other former Iron Curtain/Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004. 60k Poles is still 60k more than a few years earlier plus the other countries. Basically the population of another Galway City in 2006.

Also, the 'Pope's Children' generation population spike from 1979/1980 came into the workplace from circa 2000 onwards which was another factor in demand.

It is no co incidence that there was an unsustainable property boom in full flow that peaked in 2005-2007. All sorts of unmentionable vested interests and Government policy fuelled it.

The inflow of Eastern European tenants was a big factor for many Irish people jumping on the bandwagon especially in rural areas i.e. it was going to be the source of income.

PhilOssophy

Bring back the stories of drinking and wasting money!

Frynge

Helicopters to the K Club from Herbert Park.

partyguinness

A buddy of mine blew €2k in a strip club.

Even AIB rang him to see what was going on.

nthclare

partyguinness wrote: »

A buddy of mine blew €2k in a strip club.

Even AIB rang him to see what was going on.

Is it AIB or BOI who were ****ting millions out of their arses ?

Ah sure 2000 was nothing, now if it was a million they'ed be taking him there themselves

[Deleted User]

The drinking at the time was phenomenal, even country pubs, which had to close for good a few years later, were packed.
There were ads on TV to discourage binge drinking, which was at a level that had never been seen before and has dropped off since. Huge rise in the number of late night assaults in the early 2000s, almost all of it down to booze, with cocaine a factor too of course.
Interesting how things have moved on, of course a lot of people drink too much still, but for a few years the country went on the tear collectively. It wasn't just young people either, all ages were drinking way more than they had before. Seemed to taper off fast enough when the recession hit.

[Deleted User]

There were a lot of articles in the paper about the national rise in confidence and I saw it first hand. Used to employ young fellas as labourers, thick as sh!t a lot of them, hadn't the cop on to do an apprenticeship or the brains for education, but by Jesus they had no self doubt. Ignorance was total bliss for guys with ten second attention spans earning way more than they deserved and blowing it on drink and drugs. Loud as you like, telling you how business should be done. Used to have a laugh with them when I was in form for them, most of them took off abroad when things went sour.

Airyfairy12

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

The drinking at the time was phenomenal, even country pubs, which had to close for good a few years later, were packed.

I remember this, my parents lived in the countryside, about 15/20 minute drive to the nearest town. Up the road from the house was this old little country pub, stepping inside was like entering a time machine back to the 1940's. Every single night it was packed with mostly farmers who would drink all night and then drive home. Quite a few times drunk drivers from that pub crashed into my parents house/garden/wall outside the house. One of them died after crashing into an electric pole by the front of the house. After the recession hit the pub ended up closing down.

Glebee

partyguinness wrote: »

A buddy of mine blew €2k in a strip club.

Even AIB rang him to see what was going on.

Hes not the only one.:o:o It did not happen again.

Claw Hammer

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

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.

I spent the last few years of the celtic tiger telling people it would all end in tears. I kept my lifestyle moderate and had no lifestyle debts on hand when the crash came.

Marty Xavier

I was at a wedding in the height of the madness, I was in the business of supplying builders, sites at the time. A developer/builder made a beeline for me at the bar , demanded I buy him a drink (pint of Fat Frog €11 at the time) told me all that was wrong with my business and how he prefers to do business with another supplier. I had a drink with him and ****ed off despite him asking me for another drink!

Aprox 2 years later he went bust, went for €36 million or something crazy (hotels the whole lot), the other supplier who he recommended was a better model also went bust. He ended up working for NAMA, probavly 100k a year, no idea where he is now.

Sebastian Dangerfield

Glebee wrote: »

Hes not the only one.:o:o It did not happen again.

One of my pals dropped 200 on a single dance one night. He was raging when they just gave 5 x 40 euro dances one after the other :-)

[Deleted User]

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

I remember this, my parents lived in the countryside, about 15/20 minute drive to the nearest town. Up the road from the house was this old little country pub, stepping inside was like entering a time machine back to the 1940's. Every single night it was packed with mostly farmers who would drink all night and then drive home. Quite a few times drunk drivers from that pub crashed into my parents house/garden/wall outside the house. One of them died after crashing into an electric pole by the front of the house. After the recession hit the pub ended up closing down.

The Monday club was a huge thing, even in the most rural small villages. The pubs would be rammed from early on Monday with lads who had given the weekend on it and couldn't face work. There were plenty who went out Thursday night and wouldn't be sober until the Tuesday morning. The excessive drinking - and all the other crap that went with it - is one thing that won't be missed.

partyguinness

Marty Xavier wrote: »

I was at a wedding in the height of the madness, I was in the business of supplying builders, sites at the time. A developer/builder made a beeline for me at the bar , demanded I buy him a drink (pint of Fat Frog €11 at the time) told me all that was wrong with my business and how he prefers to do business with another supplier. I had a drink with him and ****ed off despite him asking me for another drink!

Aprox 2 years later he went bust, went for €36 million or something crazy (hotels the whole lot), the other supplier who he recommended was a better model also went bust. He ended up working for NAMA, probavly 100k a year, no idea where he is now.

I can think of a few sub contractors (plumbers etc) who turned into right pricks and grade 1 a**holes at the height of it. Big shots in BMW X5s.

Had no sympathy when a few ended up bust and back living with their parents.

CardBordWindow

Deleted User wrote: »

The Monday club was a huge thing, even in the most rural small villages. The pubs would be rammed from early on Monday with lads who had given the weekend on it and couldn't face work. There were plenty who went out Thursday night and wouldn't be sober until the Tuesday morning. The excessive drinking - and all the other crap that went with it - is one thing that won't be missed.

The quietest time in the pub on a Monday was when the death notices would be on the radio. Lads would listen for a name and ring their boss. 'I can't make it in. So and so is dead and I have to go to the funeral'

PhilOssophy

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

One of my pals dropped 200 on a single dance one night. He was raging when they just gave 5 x 40 euro dances one after the other :-)

What was the difference?

partyguinness

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

One of my pals dropped 200 on a single dance one night. He was raging when they just gave 5 x 40 euro dances one after the other :-)

I suspect he had been promised a lot more than just a dance.

Sebastian Dangerfield

PhilOssophy wrote: »

What was the difference?

Well it was 20 was to see top half, 40 bottom half, more than 40 got you to a private room so I guess he expected services rendered to increase on a par with the cost.

Glenomra

Rural county clare. I know approximately 10 developers active at the time. Some builders who became developers, others farmers, publicans etc. All did extremely well for some years. Some though not all developed the lifestyle to with it, helicopter rides, galway tent, serious gambling etc. Some very poorly built overpriced houses etc.A few good builders got seriously overextended. All got wiped out during the crash. It fascinated me how none of them managed to survive the crash. Did the banks need to bankrupt them all. Imo some of these genuine builders are a loss to our economy.

BattleCorp

I know one guy who was paid €100k by a developer not to object to a housing estate being built in the field next to him.

He took the €100k and didn't object during the planning process. Planning permission was granted for the estate. The estate was never built because of the recession but yer man is up €100k for doing absolutely nothing.

Nice when the recession actually goes your way.