The death of Celtic Tiger

The death of Celtic Tiger

The cat represents the irish economic power and used to be a tiger. It means that the irish economy is not as strong as it used to be.

This document must be a play because there are stage directions. It was published after the economic boom. It is a long monologue. The title of the book, The Parting Glass is the title of a traditional irish song which was sung for people who were leaving.

The main character is Eoin, he is 50, he comes from a lower class family. He emigrated from Ireland to go to Germany during the 90's to find a job and now he is moving back to Ireland, he must have heard about the situation getting better. He has a wife whose name is Frieda, she is German and he has a son whose name is Dieter. His son grew up in Germany.

Before leaving Ireland, Eoin had been living there for several years. The story he is telling extends over more than a year. As he came from a lower-class family/ background, he couldn't go to university. He hopes his son will manage to go to university and prove that his family has climbed the social ladder/ has succeded in climbing the social ladder. His son going to university would be a revenge on the opportunities he never had.

-Changes in Dublin : Dublin has changed a lot since Eoin last went there.

There are construction sites everywhere, so people and companies must have a lot of money to invest in building. People have also changed a lot, they have become trendier. The whole environment has changed since there are now more immigrants from Africa or Eastern Europe.

Eoin has managed to find a job and a house or a flat outside Dublin. He and his wife seem to be happy. He has been working very hard, sleeping a lot and has spent a lot of time in traffic jams. He has been very busy. He has mixed feelings because on the one hand he feels happy but on the other hand he can't recognize his own country. One day he loses his job/ is laid off/ is a victim of reorganisation of resources. He can no longer pay back his mortgage/ the money he borrowed from the bank.

At first the bank manager laughs at Eoin when he expresses doubts. He encourages him to borrow money. He seems light-hearted, unaware.

Eoin hesitates/ wonders if he can afford to borrow such an amount of money, but he trusts the bank manager.

On the contrary, at the end, the bank manager calls/ phones him every day.

With hindsight, we can say that Eoin was right to have doubts. He was obviously the only one who sensed the danger. He had a premonition.

Eoin has emigrated in 2006 and has lost his job a year later, in 2007. The turning point is line 55, he has only been living in Ireland for one year when he suddenly loses his job.

When Latvia is mentioned for the first time (L.18), it is to talk about immigrants who have come to Ireland during the boom , whereas at the end Latvia is the place where the company plans to relocate. The narrator is being ironic. The workforce must be cheaper in Latvia.

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