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The Bar mitzvah and Confirmation scenes are paved with gold for the lads.
Isn’t that the subs bench for The Late Late Show?
Couldn’t be.
No sign of Marty.
Saw Noel Smyth today queuing to get into the Kitchen Restaurant in Arnotts.How the mighty have fallen. Think once upon a time he used to own Arnotts.
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That’ll be a tricky one to get through I’d say.
The Celtic Tiger was, give or take a few weeks, a decade long phenomenon, no more, no less.
The starting point of what the Celtic Tiger is nebulous. In 1995, which to me was not Celtic Tiger Ireland, there was already a very positive vibe around. You could feel it. There just was. It was Oasis and Blur and Jayo and sunshine and wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time up the North, but Jack Charlton was still here, and Jack Charlton and Celtic Tiger Ireland do not go together. The divorce referendum was a precursor, a zygote to the fully fledged baby tiger that would be born at some point over the following two years.
Key progenitor events for me are the following.
Jack Charlton’s departure, Mick McCarthy’s entry, Roy Keane becoming Roy Keane. Roy Keane became Roy Keane in 1996.
Dublin falling away into the beginning of the Chaos Years in Gaelic football.
The vote to allow the back door in hurling.
The arrival of mobile phones for real in 1996.
Ryanair was just starting to come into its pomp around 1995/96.
The demolition of the Mackey’s Seeds shop in Mary Street and the commencement of the building of the Jervis Street Shopping Centre. The opening of the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. These two opened within days of each other in November 1996. The M50 between Blanchardstown and the airport opened in November 1996 too. These are key events. We were now a highway based suburban mall culture.
November 1996 was the start of the Celtic Tiger.
What happened in 1997 merely confirmed these developments. Bertie in, McCreevy in, the start of The Last Word with Eamon Dunphy, the RA going back on ceasefire, the hurling championship being Guinnessed, Ireland winning the World Cup of Golf and failing to qualify for the World Cup in football.
The end of the Celtic Tiger almost exactly mirrored its beginnings 10 years later. The moment it jumped the shark was the moment Ian Woosnam blubbered a bittle of champagne down his front on the balcony of the clubhouse of the K Club on September 24th, 2006. There was an end of days feel around Dublin over the winter of 2006/07. And it was. My last year in Trinners. Raymond van Barneveld was no longer competing at Lakeside. Lansdowne Road was about to be demolished. The soft landing was coming. But we all knew this was bollocks.
The final remnant of the Celtic Tiger was Munster’s defeat of Toulouse in the Heineken Cup final in Cardiff om May 24th, 2008. But this was only a remnant, the final drinking up after the lights had come on.
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RTÉ broadcaster and former rugby player Donncha O’Callaghan has said he was “ill informed” and blames nobody but himself after losing money through the collapsed investment firm Custom House Capital.
The judge at the Circuit Criminal Court described the conspiracy as a highly organised, systematic, prolific plundering of clients’ accounts.
The court heard the offences continued even after the Central Bank and Financial Regulator were alerted in 2009.
Judge Orla Crowe read more than 200 victim impact statements before imposing her sentences.
Speaking on new RTÉ podcast Insights with Sean O’Rourke, Mr O’Callaghan said he should have known better before getting involved and investing money with the business.
“I was probably involved with this time of Celtic Tiger where money was so easy to get ahold of. I think it’s a real cop out to say I took bad advice. I was ill informed. That lies with me,” he said.
"I took people’s experience in certain areas as if ‘yeah, that’s good enough for me’ because he knows it inside out whereas I’ve learned you have to know it inside out.
Dublin Airport warns passengers all parking spaces sold out
Looks like the staycation boom is fizzling out.
At least 20% less spaces and only for the weekend. It’s fine next week.
But I’m loving how the new boss in the DAA is trying to get direct flights to China and Brazil.
Great for the economy but no one actually gives a fuck about the environment.
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Everyone wants everyone else to cut CO2
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The new machines in security in Dublin Airport and being able to leave devices in bags and the new tray based queueing system has improved the security experience.
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experience?
The planet killers will not be inconvenienced mate
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Only on TFK can a lad who flies regularly to Australia be a poster child for not flying.
Encouraging. I’m heading on my holidays on Sunday with the kids etc. Went the same weekend last year on the day that was complete armageddon with people banging on the windows of the terminal etc to get. Hoping for a slightly more pleasant experience this time!
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eh, i make essential journeys only mate