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Notes -
80s Ireland was a land of rain and misery - high unemployment rate, crashed economy, expectation that pretty much as soon as you hit 18 you will emigrate because there's damn-all at home for you.
In 1987 a government minister defended the emigration expectation (and lack of action by the government) by telling us "We can't all expect to live on a small island". Population back then was around 3.5 million. Population today is around 5.5 million.
The 90s were the Celtic Tiger and the good times would never stop, except it was a bubble and the 2008 global crisis hit us hard once again. Austerity budgets and back to the emigration trail.
Today we're being told that the economy is going great (sounds familiar?) but yet people feel that they have less money in their pockets, prices are going up, and there isn't enough damn housing (sounds familiar?)
Hmm, yes, I see. Although arguably the emigration was responsible for the Celtic Tiger and Ireland’s prosperity generally. When America etc. were looking to see how to invest in Europe, having a lot of Irish-Americans and the general diaspora in high places saying it should be Ireland was probably very important.
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