Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [27]
And so the developers continued to build, borrowing vast amounts from banks whose coffers were swollen with cheap credit from major international financial institutions whose own coffers were swollen thanks to an out-of-control derivatives market. The Irish property market got its first major warning in 2007, when demand for residential housing finally began to recede in the face of high prices and over-saturation, but it wasn’t until the end of 2008 – after Lehmann Brothers and the other giants of finance went to the wall – that the credit lines shrivelled up and the banks’ massive exposure to the developers threw the whole economy into turmoil.
The government bailout may have prevented a total collapse of the Irish banking system, but the economy remains on some kind of life support: the unemployment rate doubled in the space of one year (it’s forecasted to reach 17% by 2010) and the deficit is expected to be a whopping 12% of GDP by the end of 2009. The Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman reckons that it’ll take the country up to 10 years to get out of this economic hole. The Celtic Tiger is truly dead: what now, pussycat?
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Rugby & Football
Rugby and football (soccer) enjoy considerable support all over the country, particularly around Dublin; football is very popular in Northern Ireland.
Although traditionally the preserve of Ireland’s middle classes, rugby captures the mood of the whole island in February and March during the annual Six Nations Championships, because the Irish team is drawn from both sides of the border and is supported by both Nationalists and Unionists. In recognition of this, the Irish national anthem is no longer played at internationals, replaced by the slightly dodgy but thoroughly inoffensive Ireland’s Call, a song written especially for the purpose – although nobody seemed to mind it in 2009 when Ireland won its first Grand Slam (a clean sweep of victories in one campaign) since 1948.
There is huge support in Ireland for the ‘world game’, although fans are much more enthusiastic about the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and the two Glasgow clubs (Rangers and Celtic) than the struggling pros and part-timers who make up the National League (www.fai.ie) in the Republic and the Irish League (www.irishfa.com) in Northern Ireland. It’s just too difficult for domestic teams to compete with the multimillionaire glitz and glamour of the English Premiership, which has always drawn off the cream of Irish talent. The current crop of local lads playing across the water includes John O’Shea (Manchester United), Robbie Keane (Spurs), Aiden McGeady (Celtic) and Stephen Ireland (Manchester City).
At an international level, the Republic and Northern Ireland field separate teams; in 2009 both were performing adequately, but it was all a far cry from their relative moments of glory – the 1980s for Northern Ireland and 1988 to 2002 for the Republic. International matches are played at the Aviva Stadium ( 01-238 2300; Lansdowne Rd), Dublin (aka the new Lansdowne Road) and Windsor Park ( 9024 4198; off Lisburn Rd), Belfast.
Horse Racing & Greyhound Racing
A passion for horse racing is deeply entrenched in Irish life and comes without the snobbery of its English counterpart. If you fancy a flutter on the gee-gees you can watch racing from around Ireland and England on the TV in bookmakers shops every day. No money ever seems to change hands in the betting, however, and every Irish punter will tell