The Irish Debacle

Ireland surged in the 1990s with low taxes and soaring home values. Now not even St. Patrick can save the Irish economy.

Tish Durkin

by Tish Durkin

On this St. Patrick's Day, the people of Ireland, North and South, can feel pride and relief that the recent murders of two unarmed British soldiers and a police officer by “Republican dissidents” have not only failed to revive “the Troubles,” but have reinforced the general commitment to peace. That’s especially fortunate right now, because the Irish certainly need to feel good about something. After almost twenty years of partying on the tab of the Celtic Tiger, the Irish economy does not have a mere hangover. It has whiplash—and that’s a special kind of pain.

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Tish Durkin is a journalist whose work has appeared in publications including the New York Observer, the Atlantic Monthly, the National Journal, and Rolling Stone. After extensive postings in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, she is now based in Ireland.