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The Celtic Tiger Roars The "Celtic Tiger" was dubbed such because of the strong economic turnaround of the past years, funded largely by EC investments. It is a study in large scale change. One of the most striking things I noticed was the effect it had on the demographics of the city's population. I am used to being a part of the "baby boom" generation in the US where there are a lot of people in my 45 year old age group. In Ireland, there was almost no one near my age in the city. There were a lot of over 60 year olds and and a huge group of 20 to 30 somethings. Poor economic conditions of the past spawned an exodus of a generation from Dublin. The 20 to 30 somethings reminded me of the US in the early eighties. There is a mood of optimism, but an attitude of get it while you can because it may not last. They dress in business wear that looks the same and are very trend conscious. I got a kick out of their popular beer in the Pubs - Bud Light. It cost more than Guinness - Go figure. I stuck with the old boring Guinness myself.
I also got an unexpected study in crisis management as well, in that the livestock foot and mouth disease outbreak from England hit in Northern Ireland just days before I arrived. The Republic of Ireland was in a panic to keep it out. It was front page news every day, yet it wasn't until the third day that the papers mentioned that the disease had little effect on humans. My assessment was that they took all the wrong prevention steps while I was there - obviously ineffective and very costly. One of many examples: They closed the main entrance to St. Stevens Green (park) in the center of Dublin and posted a notice that no one could enter the park. They left a side entrance open with a chemically treated mat to step on, but posted a notice to keep animals off the mat. A city employee stayed there all day and poured chemicals on the mat to keep it wet. They left the back entrances open without any notice or mat. Similar inconsistent approaches were used at the airport. Time has proven my initial assessment correct. Foot and mouth broke out in the Republic within the month. Infrastructure was another weakness in Dublin. While there is a lot of money around, the transportation system was very poor. Buses were the only mass transit available and decoding the system was difficult for a visitor. With the notable exception of the old Georgian offices near Merrion Square and some historic buildings, most buildings in the city were either new square boxes or old and run down. City neighborhoods seemed to change from good to bad on a block by block basis. |
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