5 Signs You Lost The Run Of Yourself During The Celtic Tiger

FROM the late nineties to the mid-2000s, boy did we Irish ever party. In the space of ten years, average Irish people brought the economy to its knees with reckless spending and wild lifestyles.

At the time you were just going with the flow, living your life, but with hindsight, it’s easy to recognise yourself in this list of ways you lost the complete run of yourself.

1) You bought a house

Seriously, what were you thinking? A sure sign you got caught up in the Celtic Tiger mindset of spend, spend, spend! You were living in rented accommodation or with your parents, and you said fuck it; I want a house to live in, and raise a family! You didn’t even stop to think about artificially exaggerated house prices or lax banking regulations; you just signed on the dotted line. Next thing you know, negative equity for the next 20 years. Who did you think you were? Mr. Moneyhouse or something?

2) You had kids

Rookie move! There you were in 2005, married with a mortgage. Then you fell for a typical Celtic Tiger mistake; have a kid or two. Bet you didn’t even consider the collapse of the economy, or that the company you’d worked in since you left school, would close down and dump you on the unemployment line for ten years. How’re those kids today eh? Not looking as well as the day you got them, we’ll bet.

3) You went to college

Sure, looking back now, you would have left school in 2003 and spent the next three or four years working any job you could get and saving every single cent to help weather the storm when the arse fell out of the economy in 2008. But at the time, you thought no; I’ll get me some third level education and make something of myself! Idiot! How’s waiting tables in Perth working out for you?

4) You got sick a lot

These days, you don’t get sick. Or at least, you don’t get sick enough to spend money on a doctor, or medicine. Hell, we’d need to wake up missing an arm to warrant taking the day off work! Back in the early 2000s, you were far too willing to go to doctors, or hospitals whenever you were feeling sick. If you were too ill to go to work, you didn’t solider on because you badly needed the paycheque to cover this month’s mortgage payment; you actually stayed off work until you were better. You really thought a lot of yourself back then, didn’t you? Eh? Jay-Z?

5) You were less cautious about who you voted for

It’s 2002, the good times are here. You go to the polls and you don’t really pass much remarks about who you vote in. 2007 rolls around, and again, you’re not that interested in politics so you don’t vote at all. It just wasn’t that pressing of a concern! Of course, since the crash of 2008 you’re that bit more careful with your pennies, and you’re absolutely certain that your vote in the next general election will be put to very good use.