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

ChikiChiki

partyguinness wrote: »

I blew €2000 on Blackjack online
I had the Celtic Tiger BMW
I flew Cork to Dublin a few times for the feck of it
Ordering 3 bottles of Champagne in the Palace bar
Several skiing trips
Weekend breaks away to European cities
In the position I could buy pretty much anything I wanted without being too bothered about the price.

By the end of 2008 I had €54k of unsecured debt. I was 30 yrs old and on €70k pa with no kids or mortgage. It all got a bit real then with wage freezes and cuts. Went on massive drive to pay back everything and cleared it all by the end of 2010

Fair play, must have been absolutely sole destroying.

I worked in the bank in 2008/2009 and even as things were going bad I spotted a car on my lunch break, got a rush of blood to the head and fired off an internal mail asking for 10k, loan docs were faxed through immediately, signed and approved in the space of about 2 hours.

Paying that back was soul destroying so can only imagine what 54K was like.

tylercheribini

Sesame wrote: »

When the pub times changed and pub were allowed to open until 12.30 am, wasn't it the same for Thursday nights and then there was some outcry about people not turning up for work on a Friday morning so they had to set it back an hour on Thursdays? I vaguely remember that happening but those years were pretty blurry.

I got married at the end of the tiger time and the prices for bands and photographers were astronomical. Looking back now on my leather bound €3k photo book as a lasting memory

I do remember being out on Thursday nights in a small Irish town and it was jammers,busier than any weekend night there now,said venue was a hotel so they could get away with serving late, we were all residents sure, I cant remember what time they closed those nights but it defo wasnt 11.30.

Sebastian Dangerfield

tylercheribini wrote: »

I do remember being out on Thursday nights in a small Irish town and it was jammers,busier than any weekend night there now,said venue was a hotel so they could get away with serving late, we were all residents sure, I cant remember what time they closed those nights but it defo wasnt 11.30.

Early 2000s in a small Clare town, some of the pubs had music 5 nights a week, with a decent few in for pool or darts the other 2. Monday nights were particularly busy - the same places wouldnt have music on a Saturday night now unless there was a 21st or something like that.

tylercheribini

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

Early 2000s in a small Clare town, some of the pubs had music 5 nights a week, with a decent few in for pool or darts the other 2. Monday nights were particularly busy - the same places wouldnt have music on a Saturday night now unless there was a 21st or something like that.

Yea it really was like living through the roaring 20's only I didnt realise it at the time. My mates were all tradesmen raking it in and on more than one occasion would pay through the nose for ****e chanpagne in the local night club.

Hibernicis

Sesame wrote: »

When the pub times changed and pub were allowed to open until 12.30 am, wasn't it the same for Thursday nights and then there was some outcry about people not turning up for work on a Friday morning so they had to set it back an hour on Thursdays? I vaguely remember that happening but those years were pretty blurry.

You are correct about late opening on Thursdays. The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2000 abolished the traditional summer and winter opening times and the Sunday "holy hour" from 2pm to 4pm and allowed 30 mins drinking up time. It set opening hours as follows:
On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights, drink will be served until 12.30 a.m.
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, pubs will stay open until 11.30 p.m.
On Sundays pubs can serve drink until 11 p.m. on Sunday night.
On the eve of public holidays, closing time will be extended by one hour.

The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 altered this and made Thursday the same as Monday to Wednesday.

The pressure to change the hours In 2003 came largely from the VFI because the majority of pubs (especially the rural ones) didn’t want the hassle and expense of late night opening on Thursdays; it was simply extending the working day (cost) bringing no additional revenue.

talla10

One of my biggest memories was joining an Emergency Service in 2005 and telling my mates what my wages were and the salary scale I was on.

They all laughed and the usual I wouldn't get out of that bed for that type comment. Then they'd tell stories of their bonus's, companies arranging outrageous parties all the usual craic.

Fast forward to the crash and I suddenly was vastly overpaid

freshpopcorn

Before iphones, etc this and in pink for the ladies.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

talla10 wrote: »

Fast forward to the crash and I suddenly was vastly overpaid

Don't worry, you're just about coming back to being on huge money again, let the good times roll!

PTH2009

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Before iphones, etc this and in pink for the ladies.

Jesus blast from the past, think I had one of them once upon a time. Anyone have one of those little mini cameras ?

Was in secondary during the Celtic tiger but can remember lots of money around with pubs etc been busy and very little closures (sadly few pubs started to close from 2008 on). Plenty of jobs around in the 2000s even for secondary/college students and often people moving jobs quickly.

Could be wrong but were concert/match tickets actually cheaper around that time than they are now ?

PhilOssophy

Yeah the only thing which never reduced was the price of concert tickets, even during the down turn post Celtic tiger they didn't reduce very much, if at all. We still paid more than other countries even in 2011/2012.
I was trying to think of modern day excesses similar to the Celtic Tiger, without wanting to derail the discussion and dive any deeper than this, I think the only really obvious examples I can think of in recent times where money was spent/wasted with abandon is the Children's Hospital and the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh. But sure Frank Murphy got his new trophy stadium!

This celtic tiger development Belmayne always struck me as a mirror of the times.

* Eye watering prices
* Over the top advertising.
* Celebrity endorsements.
* Bubble bursts
* Developer goes bust
* Turned into a ghost estate for a time.
* Fire safety issues with some of the buildings.
* Eventually completed with a large allocation of social housing.

gmisk

ronoc wrote: »

This celtic tiger development Belmayne always struck me as a mirror of the times.

* Eye watering prices
* Over the top advertising.
* Celebrity endorsements.
* Bubble bursts
* Developer goes bust
* Turned into a ghost estate for a time.
* Fire safety issues with some of the buildings.
* Eventually completed with a large allocation of social housing.

Who was the target market with that ad?! Dracula?

Montage of Feck

The local rural pubs have been in terminal decline since then, with a whole generation of customers gone to oz.
What's left of them will surely be gone with covid.

Canyon86

ChikiChiki wrote: »

Irish weddings are a load of **** until about 11pm when the formalities go out the window due to the copious amount of drink consumed up to that point.

Absolutely hate the standing around and small talk in church car parks and stately boutique hotels that lasts for about 8 hours. The money spent on these things is eye watering for one day.

I've been at a few foreign weddings of Irish people, with smaller gatherings and less formal. Way better craic in my opinion. And obviously a fraction of the cost and stress.

Couldnt agree more, top post!!:D

Leg End Reject

gmisk wrote: »

Who was the target market with that ad?! Dracula?

I'm guessing exhibitionists and voyeurs.

Showing a couple getting down to business on the kitchen island when you can see how close the houses are behind probably wasn't the brightest marketing idea.

Odelay

Leg End Reject wrote: »

I'm guessing exhibitionists and voyeurs.

Showing a couple getting down to business on the kitchen island when you can see how close the houses are behind probably wasn't the brightest marketing idea.

They had the patio door open and all. Shire that would have let in a heap of midges.

Leg End Reject

Odelay wrote: »

They had the patio door open and all. Shire that would have let in a heap of midges.

Why have the neighbours just watch when they can hear too?

seenn00J

That Belmayne development is so crowded, it's like they had a competition to see how many apartments/duplexes could be crammed into the smallest space. It's the type of housing that would be perfectly suited for city centre living. How much were they going for at the time of the Dracula ad? Here's a link about the structural defects the owners were hit with a bill for:

www . irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/analysis/belmayne-it-will-take-an-actual-fire-to-reveal-the-truth-934852.html


Also just read Jamie Redknapp and his wife attended the launch in 2007. Half a million! It's basically an extension of Darndale lol!

Less than half the apartments, which eight years ago ranged in price from just under €300,000 to almost €500,000, were built, and a large number of them remained unoccupied for several years after construction, turning the development into a ghost estate.

In 2009, Clúid, with housing associations Hail and Sonas, bought 75 completed units in Belmayne. At the same time, Dublin City Council bought 59 of them and appointed Clúid as management agent.

At the time, the estate was in a very poor condition, Clúid spokeswoman Karen Kennedy said.
‘Rubbish piled up’

“When we first visited this development over six years ago, there were high rates of anti-social behaviour, rubbish was piled up on the streets, and there were derelict buildings everywhere.

KungPao

I remember the done thing for students who worked part time in a shop was to go traveling for months on end. Always south east Asia. Paid for by the folks or big loan. Their bebo profiles were all the same, with nauseating posts of them acting like they are some pioneering discoverers of lost ancient civilizations. Yes we know, it’s hot there and they like to eat weird stuff.

Still, I would have liked to have done it myself!

CrankyHaus

seenn00J wrote: »

Also just read Jamie Redknapp and his wife attended the launch in 2007. Half a million! It's basically an extension of Darndale lol!

Yes. Parts of it are majority social housing, the big no-no of modern residential development, if you add the Council and Housing Agency properties in certain blocks. In fact there are plenty of Council Estates I'd prefer to live in.

The J Stands for Jay

One More Toy wrote: »

Don't know why because the bank itself isn't in great shape to be sold off, look at the share price since the govt sold a tranche

I don't know specifics but I'm pretty sure KBC was the only bank not bailed out by the state. So fair play to them I'm sticking with them

They were bailed out by their Belgian parent. No idea of the parent was bailed out by their government

BattleCorp

gmisk wrote: »

Who was the target market with that ad?! Dracula?

Chiropractors.

He's obviously about to fix her back.

bear1

Well I as one of the fools that got sucked into the "easy" credit scenario.
Got a job in AIB around 07 and the money being thrown at ya for being a bank employee.
Whilst still being on a temporary contract they gave me a credit card with a "low" limit of 4.5k.
Then I took a cash loan to buy a car - that took minutes.
I then topped up that loan twice when money started getting tight.
I was young and beyond dumb.
Ended up essentially defaulting on both the loan and the credit card.
I was so so stupid.
Spending the money on weekend trips to Copenhagen, random trips here and there, eating out almost constantly and renting an expensive apartment.
The bank was one thing offering the money non stop but I was the bigger idiot to keep asking and agreeing.

ChikiChiki

bear1 wrote: »

Well I as one of the fools that got sucked into the "easy" credit scenario.
Got a job in AIB around 07 and the money being thrown at ya for being a bank employee.
Whilst still being on a temporary contract they gave me a credit card with a "low" limit of 4.5k.
Then I took a cash loan to buy a car - that took minutes.
I then topped up that loan twice when money started getting tight.
I was young and beyond dumb.
Ended up essentially defaulting on both the loan and the credit card.
I was so so stupid.
Spending the money on weekend trips to Copenhagen, random trips here and there, eating out almost constantly and renting an expensive apartment.
The bank was one thing offering the money non stop but I was the bigger idiot to keep asking and agreeing.

The way I look at it having been in the same boat is, it's a good lesson to learn early about drowning in debt. My parents never thought me any financial discipline growing up which I think is so important. I'm much more prudent nowadays.

partyguinness

I remember applying for a MBNA credit card in 2005.

When I got it had a quick glance- it was with a €800.00 limit. Grand.

Looked again it was €8,000.00..nearly fainted. They put it up several times without asking- think it hit €15k at one stage. I actually put a stop to it.

Remember the 5 years SSIA between 2001 and 2007? Banks were throwing out loans, credit cards etc so you would rake up the debt and use the SSIA to pay it off.

Spent before it even matured.

paw patrol

partyguinness wrote: »

I remember applying for a MBNA credit card in 2005.

When I got it had a quick glance- it was with a €800.00 limit. Grand.

Looked again it was €8,000.00..nearly fainted. They put it up several times without asking- think it hit €15k at one stage. I actually put a stop to it.

Remember the 5 years SSIA between 2001 and 2007? Banks were throwing out loans, credit cards etc so you would rake up the debt and use the SSIA to pay it off.

Spent before it even matured.

my mate who is useless with money was same
started off on a 3k limit when construction crashed he owed 18k to MBNA
they wiped it for 2.5k which he borrowed off his dad.


said he'd have a bad credit rating but he didn't care...never borrowing again he said...

tylercheribini

seenn00J wrote: »

That Belmayne development is so crowded, it's like they had a competition to see how many apartments/duplexes could be crammed into the smallest space. It's the type of housing that would be perfectly suited for city centre living. How much were they going for at the time of the Dracula ad? Here's a link about the structural defects the owners were hit with a bill for:

www . irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/analysis/belmayne-it-will-take-an-actual-fire-to-reveal-the-truth-934852.html


Also just read Jamie Redknapp and his wife attended the launch in 2007. Half a million! It's basically an extension of Darndale lol!

Joanna Lumley opened a shopping centre in Arklow too! See below

https://youtu.be/dYzb5qiXSL0

Sebastian Dangerfield

partyguinness wrote: »

I remember applying for a MBNA credit card in 2005.

When I got it had a quick glance- it was with a €800.00 limit. Grand.

Looked again it was €8,000.00..nearly fainted. They put it up several times without asking- think it hit €15k at one stage. I actually put a stop to it.

Remember the 5 years SSIA between 2001 and 2007? Banks were throwing out loans, credit cards etc so you would rake up the debt and use the SSIA to pay it off.

Spent before it even matured.

My sister got a letter in the post, which seemed to have been part of a random mailshot, saying she had been "pre-approved" for a credit card of €3,000. She happily filled in the form, and took it out in cash over the course of a couple of weeks, making the minimum payment of I think 1% per month, with 20% apr applying after the first 6 months. She got several "Good news! We've pre-approved you for X amount extra" and proceeded to do the same til she was probably in for 5 figures. I think at one point she just stopped paying them, or settled a fraction of the debt.

I actually had the opposit problem a couple of years later - having also been stung with easy credit, I wanted a credit card for online bookings but didnt want much actual credit. I had so much trouble trying to get a limit of just €500, PTSB gave it to me eventually after a bit of whinging.

tylercheribini

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

My sister got a letter in the post, which seemed to have been part of a random mailshot, saying she had been "pre-approved" for a credit card of €3,000. She happily filled in the form, and took it out in cash over the course of a couple of weeks, making the minimum payment of I think 1% per month, with 20% apr applying after the first 6 months. She got several "Good news! We've pre-approved you for X amount extra" and proceeded to do the same til she was probably in for 5 figures. I think at one point she just stopped paying them, or settled a fraction of the debt.

I actually had the opposit problem a couple of years later - having also been stung with easy credit, I wanted a credit card for online bookings but didnt want much actual credit. I had so much trouble trying to get a limit of just €500, PTSB gave it to me eventually after a bit of whinging.

I remember mbna harrasing drunk revellers to sign up at slane concert no less, free umbrellas were exchanged for every application,which were promptly confiscated by security.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

tylercheribini wrote: »

Joanna Lumley opened a shopping centre in Arklow too! See below

https://youtu.be/dYzb5qiXSL0

I remember Jordan opening a nightclub in Ballinasloe circa 2002.