14 things Irish people did during the Celtic Tiger (some of which you won't believe)

clairefontaine · 10-12-2013 03:43PM

Montroseee wrote: »

You can get long weekend deals for about 8-900 per person which is quite reasonable, just have to book when the time is right.

Sorry I think that is ridiculous.

Amirani · 10-12-2013 03:44PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

Why do Irish people do this? Surely with the costs of flying and accommodation you are not actually saving any money?

Nope, but New York is fun.

ScumLord · 10-12-2013 03:44PM

jmayo wrote: »

Ah the spend it if you have ethos.

Except it wasn't often their money and now they want to dump the bill on those of us who didn't spend our money on silly sh**e.

€1,250 would have been around a weeks wages to a lot of lads working on a building site. Spending that kind of money for your childrens holy communion wouldn't have seemed like a lot to them at the time.

The only reason we're all stuck with the bill is because the banks/government convinced everyone they could borrow as much as they liked. It's not because people spent large chunks of money on frivolous things like helicopter rides. It's because the banks gave out bad loans for massive projects.

dark crystal · 10-12-2013 03:46PM

Captain Farrell wrote: »

Off to New York this weekend to go shopping/dining/whatever else. Not a big deal really?

Captain Farrell wrote: »

Have a lovely ski holiday booked for the kids half term in february, do it every year and have done since 2002. We take 4 holidays a year though and have done since 1996.

People tell me we're "lucky". Bullshit. We've worked hard to be in the position we are, why should we be made to feel guilty just because we have been succesful?

For many people who also work hard all year long, it is actually a big deal and you are pretty lucky compared to others. Myself and my partner work hard too, but could never afford those things.

Not saying you should feel guilty at all, you most certainly shouldn't, but never take such things for granted, either, like four holidays a year is no big deal.

Honestly can't say I benefited much from the celtic tiger days, so don't feel like I lost out on much when the bubble burst. I do think however, it spawned a generation who felt more entitlement to 'things' and status.

I mean, helicopters for a first holy communion....please!!

clairefontaine · 10-12-2013 03:47PM

NiallSparky wrote: »

Nope, but New York is fun.

To spend that money on such a long trip for a weekend, to go to Macys is freaking weird.

gimmick · 10-12-2013 03:47PM

Smug article, or smug list, whichver way you want to look at it.

There are some extravagances there, but many can afford an extravagance every now and then.

OK, the helicopter and communions in general went absolutely crazy which social welfare families having parties which they cannot ever pay off fully.

But the one about the student loans - what is wrong with that? It is a system which works in the UK and USA

Fishyfreak · 10-12-2013 03:48PM

"A simple Wang"

tee hee hee

RDM_83 again · 10-12-2013 03:48PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

Why do Irish people do this? Surely with the costs of flying and accommodation you are not actually saving any money?

So they can say they went on a shopping trip to New York over a skinny soya latte at the Dundrum center

On a serious note this practice actually sort of annoys me, if i order some cheap electronics from China its got a reasonable chance of being stopped by customs these days and thats for items say 50-100 euro. People going away I would presume would spend at least a 1000 euro to make it anyway worthwhile, thats money leaving the Irish economy from a sector that badly needs increased consumer spending (do customs stop Christmas travelers?)

jester77 · 10-12-2013 03:48PM

hmm, not sure why some of those things are on the list. I've gone skiing, visited Santa in Lapland and have been a member of fancyish gyms.

Skiing is fun and is a holiday, beats sitting on a beach all day and getting drunk at night.
Lapland is nice, there is more to it than Santa. Keep travelling north and you have Nordkapp and the northern lights.
Not sure what is considered fancy gymwise, but saunas and steam rooms are a nice way to relax after a long day and good workout.

Ush1 · 10-12-2013 03:50PM

Montroseee wrote: »

You can get long weekend deals for about 8-900 per person which is quite reasonable, just have to book when the time is right.

Seems excessive to do it every year to be honest but whatever floats the boat.

Montroseee · 10-12-2013 03:51PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

Sorry I think that is ridiculous.

3 nights in 4 star hotel and transatlantic flights? Not gonna get too much better than that.

gimmick · 10-12-2013 03:51PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

Why do Irish people do this? Surely with the costs of flying and accommodation you are not actually saving any money?

Have you ever been to the states out of interest? My wife and I visit Washington DC semi regularly and fill 2 or 3 suitcases of clothes. The flights are approx €500 return. Luckily we have relatives who we stay with. But yes, we save on clothes shopping this way. The prices there are unreal.

Not to mention, it is a bit of fun to look forward to and save for a great holiday like that. Not everything in life has to be drudgery. Where is the problem with that?

cabledude · 10-12-2013 03:52PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

To spend that money on such a long trip for a weekend, to go to Macys is freaking weird.

Its so that people can walk around the towns and cities of Ireland, parading a 'Macys' bag around the place.

KieranWX · 10-12-2013 03:52PM

I did none of those things, I was broke then and nothings changed

Montroseee · 10-12-2013 03:52PM

Ush1 wrote: »

Seems excessive to do it every year to be honest but whatever floats the boat.

I haven't done it myself, just know that deals can be got for approximately that amount.

gimmick · 10-12-2013 03:54PM

RDM_83 again wrote: »

On a serious note this practice actually sort of annoys me, if i order some cheap electronics from China its got a reasonable chance of being stopped by customs these days and thats for items say 50-100 euro. People going away I would presume would spend at least a 1000 euro to make it anyway worthwhile, thats money leaving the Irish economy from a sector that badly needs increased consumer spending (do customs stop Christmas travelers?)

If Irish prices were not so crazy people would not look to buy from abroad. For example, i recent;y bought a coat in the USA for $80. The exact same coat here is €179. Thats over €100 of my airfare paid immediately. Ditto with a pair of jeans bought for $35 cost approx €75 here. Anotehr €40+ off the fare.

Do Customs stop Christmas shoppers - very hard for them to do so. Most people cut off the tags etc so it is difficult for customs to prove anything.

clairefontaine · 10-12-2013 03:56PM

RDM_83 again wrote: »

So they can say they went on a shopping trip to New York over a skinny soya latte at the Dundrum center

On a serious note this practice actually sort of annoys me, if i order some cheap electronics from China its got a reasonable chance of being stopped by customs these days and thats for items say 50-100 euro. People going away I would presume would spend at least a 1000 euro to make it anyway worthwhile, thats money leaving the Irish economy from a sector that badly needs increased consumer spending (do customs stop Christmas travelers?)

Right. But not to say hey went to the philharmonic, or the tenement museums, or Ellis island or anything else millions of people go to New York to see. No, they go there to shop. They go there for Macys. It's weird!

Just stepped over homeless people in their new ugg boots on the way to Macys and then come back to Ireland so they can talk about it.

cabledude · 10-12-2013 03:57PM

The most crazy thing I heard happening in the Celtic Tiger, excluding 100% mortgages obviously, was lads buying pipe freezers. Pipe freezers are little tools that plumbers use to freeze pipes either side of a valve or leak. It saves them having to drain the whole system. Clamp on the tool, freeze the water, cut the pipe and replace, take off the tool and when the water thaws out again, the water runs freely. Excellent piece of kit.

They cost around €1200 a pop......

Lads who were not plumbers were buying them to chill their beer. Yep, thats right, 1200 to chill beer. Fridges were too slow apparently.

clairefontaine · 10-12-2013 03:58PM

gimmick wrote: »

If Irish prices were not so crazy people would not look to buy from abroad. For example, i recent;y bought a coat in the USA for $80. The exact same coat here is €179. Thats over €100 of my airfare paid immediately. Ditto with a pair of jeans bought for $35 cost approx €75 here. Anotehr €40+ off the fare.

Do Customs stop Christmas shoppers - very hard for them to do so. Most people cut off the tags etc so it is difficult for customs to prove anything.

I wrote to so,e bureaucrat about this years ago when I was there. Also due to not having much choice I was importing things from the US using a shopping club that would send things over.

The airfare isn't the expensive part. It's the accommodation, and unless you pay through the osd, its usually terrible.

rob316 · 10-12-2013 04:00PM

I remember I was 17, I strolled into the AIB bank one day after school on a friday, asked for a loan of €5k for a new car over 36 months. I was earning €120 per week in crappy part time job, I got a phone call on the Monday saying come down the money was there and the application was approved. All this without a guarantor.

You couldn't get a €10 overdraft now.

Menas · 10-12-2013 04:00PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

Right. But not to say hey went to the philharmonic, or the tenement museums, or Ellis island or anything else millions of people go to New York to see. No, they go there to shop. They go there for Macys. It's weird!

Just stepped over homeless people in their new ugg boots on the way to Macys and then come back to Ireland so they can talk about it.

There are no homeless people on broadway, the cops move them on before their assess get to comfy! :pac:

I love NY and shopping is only a small part of it as there are great bargains. But I would never say I am going there for shopping....it is normally for something else with a bit of shopping thrown in if I have the time.

gobnaitolunacy · 10-12-2013 04:01PM

Did none of those things, had an SSIA and didn't spend it. Possibly cos I'm a mane cnut.

jimgoose · 10-12-2013 04:02PM

clairefontaine wrote: »

Sorry I think that is ridiculous.

Not at all. Noo Yawk is an unbelievable place, a great holiday destination. And some people love shopping, so what of it. I would imagine if Macys opened in the Ilac Centre or some similar hellhole pit it wouldn't put people off going to the US!

Cork Lass · 10-12-2013 04:02PM

Ush1 wrote: »

Out of interest, how much does a trip to New York for shopping cost? Excluding the shopping.

About €1000 for flights and accommodation for 4 nights.

dark crystal · 10-12-2013 04:03PM

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

Did none of those things, had an SSIA and didn't spend it. Possibly cos I'm a mane cnut.

Or more likely a sensible one.

Femme_Fatale · 10-12-2013 04:09PM

IvaBigWun wrote: »

From http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/ThreeTrending/blog/14-things-you-wont-believe-irish-people-did-during-the-celtic-tiger-29825905.html?hyd

1. Getting 100% mortgages.

Some people were even getting up to 110% mortgages - a bit extra to cover some nice furniture. Wasn't that nice of the banks?

2. Christmas Shopping in New York

Some Irish people used to just 'pop over' to New York for a bit of shopping - as you do!

3. Drink champagne in the hairdressers

Back in the 'good times', Irish people were not only offered tea and water in the hairdressers but also had the option of champagne.

4. Getting student loans on minimum wage

Many students working minimum wage jobs were able to get loans and overdrafts of a couple of thousand euro, with no way to pay it back in the foreseeable future.

5. Arriving to your children's First Holy Communion in a helicopter

In 2007, Celtic Helicopters recently reported a healthy business from the parents of children taking Communion at a measly cost of €1,250 an hour.

Business meetings were sometimes scheduled based on the nearest location to a heli-pad, often meaning those people still using cars were heavily inconvenienced.

At least one company saw the funny side and offered to put the 'leftover Celtic Tiger helicopters' to a good use.

6. Lavish 21sts

In 2007, a property developer booked Girl Aloud for his daughter's 21st. The group were reportedly flown by private jet to Dublin and performed on stage before mingling with guests. According to event planners, the cost of the band alone could have been anything up to €400,000.

Developer Johnny Ronan was also reported to have gifted his daughter a 'Super Sweet 21st', with a €500,000 price tag. Guests at the party in Enniskerry downed gallons of Montrachet wine at €150 a bottle.

Let's not forget that giving cars as 18th and 21st presents also became the done thing in the Celtic Tiger.

7. Skiing holidays

Anyone who was 'anyone' went skiing at least once a year, if not twice.

8. Gran Canaria 'Leaving Cert' holidays

Leaving Cert students would often celebrate the end of their Leaving Cert by jetting off as a group to Gran Canaria or even Ibiza. These excursions would often be wild, and young Irish people developed quite a bad name overseas for a while.

9. Giving shares as presents

The daughter of one wealthy business family had to make do with shares for her 30th birthday. Unimaginative present but we're sure she wasn't too upset as she was given €11 million in company shares.

10. Visiting Santa in Lapland

Children used to be brought by their parents to meet the main man himself in person. In Lapland. Those were the days.

11. Vera Wang Wedding dresses

Vera Wang dresses in Brown Thomas retailed at more than the average recession wedding budget - a simple Wang could be bought for a cool €25,000.

12. Luxury gyms

Looking back, did Irish people really need gyms with chandeliers?

13. Max the Credit cards

During the Celtic Tiger, it was no problem to 'put it on the credit card' and worry about it later- sure, you could always get a loan to pay it off if you had to.

Some would argue this attitude may have somewhat contributed to where we are now.

14. Watched '30 Things to do with your SSIA'/Listened to Eddie Hobbs

The notion of a 'Special Savings Incentive Account' seems like a distant memory now. Even more distant is the image of Eddie Hobbs on the television telling us the best way to spend our plunder. It's so long ago now, we can't remember how tongue-in-cheek it was, but the number one things to spend your SSIA on was getting elected to politics.

"Take a punt on politics. Popularity with the public could win you some perks - and potentially give you a 3,500pc return on your investment," we were told.

How many did you do and what did they leave out?

Some of that looks like bullsh1t. Chandeliers in gyms? News to me. There was probably one gym with a chandelier. And getting champagne at the hairdresser is probably just referring to a hen rather than a standard trip to the hairdresser's.
Some of it is just people treating themselves - so sue them; it's not like it's a regular thing to go on a shopping trip in New York or to go ski-ing or to bring the kid(s) to Lapland or to go on a post leaving cert holiday. There are bargain deals on all of these, too.
Student loans and credit cards are nothing new, and credit cards are only as extravagant as the person with them. For lots of people they're just a handy thing to have for paying for things online, and to use when abroad instead of carrying cash.
The mortgage thing - depends on the person; plenty of people are able for the repayments.

The rest of the stuff is flash chavology all right, but preaching about it is rich coming from the Spindo - it fecking celebrated and encouraged such stuff.

Wompa1 · 10-12-2013 04:10PM

We're a privileged bunch of whiners. If we had a windfall like the 'Celtic Tiger' again tomorrow, we'd do the exact same thing with it.

jimgoose · 10-12-2013 04:11PM

Wompa1 wrote: »

We're a privileged bunch of whiners. If we had a windfall like the 'Celtic Tiger' again tomorrow, we'd do the exact same thing with it.

Aye. I'll ignore it and go to work.

Ush1 · 10-12-2013 04:11PM

Montroseee wrote: »

I haven't done it myself, just know that deals can be got for approximately that amount.

That's fair enough.

Surely you could do different US cities though and probably ones that would be cheaper for accommodation and flights?

FTA69 · 10-12-2013 04:12PM

cabledude wrote: »

The most crazy thing I heard happening in the Celtic Tiger, excluding 100% mortgages obviously, was lads buying pipe freezers. Pipe freezers are little tools that plumbers use to freeze pipes either side of a valve or leak. It saves them having to drain the whole system. Clamp on the tool, freeze the water, cut the pipe and replace, take off the tool and when the water thaws out again, the water runs freely. Excellent piece of kit.

They cost around €1200 a pop......

Lads who were not plumbers were buying them to chill their beer. Yep, thats right, 1200 to chill beer. Fridges were too slow apparently.

I have a very difficult time believing that to be honest. Also pipe-kits only cost around half of that.

14 things Irish people did during the Celtic Tiger (some of which you won't believe)

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