"The recession has followed us, it's marked us": The children of the boom and bust

The Journal

10 hours ago

THE NEW SINGLE from CMAT with its recession-era inspired lyrics has shone a light on the experience of children who were born into the boom, but grew up during the bust.
The artist shared a snippet online from her upcoming song Euro-Country this week, which includes the lyrics: 'All the big boys/All the Berties/All the envelopes, yeah they hurt me/I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me/And it was normal/Building houses that stay empty even now.'
The lyrics hit home for many Irish people who were kids between 2008 and 2013 and are now in their twenties and thirties.
'What happened when the Celtic Tiger collapsed was the worst thing I've ever experienced as a child. Countless suicides, ghost towns and pay cuts,' one man said online.
'Not enough attention to this part of our recent history. It affected the younger generations so much', another person said. While another said they have never 'felt so specifically and deeply for a lyric.'
As a child of the recession, the CMAT lyrics struck a chord with me, too.
I remember trying to predict how long the recession would last over lunchtime in third class, and teachers warning us there was no future for young people in Ireland. During a visit to family in Donegal, playing in the local ghost estate became my favourite pastime.
https://x.com/cmatbaby/status/1945133299346612661
Paul Murray's award-winning bestseller The Bee Sting examined the same themes, looking at recession-era Ireland through the eyes of a couple – and of their son and daughter. The book showed the stress, anxiety and fear the children experience as their father's business falls apart and their parents' marriage comes under increasing strain
RTÉ journalist Adam Maguire has a book coming out in September about the same topic. The book, called The Bailout Babies, examines how recession kids grew up in an era of economic prosperity but never got to benefit from it - and are now navigating a new type of adulthood in post-boom Ireland.
Research from the massive
Growing up in Ireland
survey suggests the recession hit children hard.
Mothers under economic pressure were 84% more likely to experience depression than mothers who weren't, while parents who felt economic distress – which was a lot of people – showed harsher styles of parenting and less warmth. They also experienced marital issues, reporting more arguments and unhappiness in their relationship.
The worsened relationships between children and parents were associated with higher anxiety in children, bad behaviour, lower child happiness and lower educational test scores.
'I wouldn't have a lot of trust in things'
Shannon, who was 14 when the crash hit, was hospitalised with anorexia in 2008, something she believes was partly caused by the stress of the recession.
'I remember life going from zero anxiety to being surrounded by it. You picked up the anxiety around you,' she told
The Journal.
As a teenager, Shannon was aware of what was going on with her family and the country as a whole, and struggled as there was nothing she could do to help.
Advertisement
She witnessed an increase in alcoholism and suicide, with several of her friends' older siblings taking their own lives.
The stress she experienced as a teenager has never left her.
'I'm always on high alert. I wouldn't have a lot of trust in things. I know a lot of my generation are like that, that's just the way we grew up,' she said.
Ultan from Wexford was 9 when the recession hit. His family were significantly impacted by the crash as they struggled to pay off loans they had taken out during the boom.
'[My parents] tried their hardest not to let us feel they were stressed, but you could tell', he said.
'Mam and Dad had to work through Christmas because they couldn't afford not to,' he added.
Ultan struggles with a scarcity mindset due to the experience, and finds it hard not to spend his money immediately.
He said: 'I struggle with holding onto money because I feel like as soon as I have it, it will go. It's not a guarantee that it will be here next month.'
He said seeing the CMAT lyrics brought back memories of the recession he hadn't realised had impacted him so much.
'The das killing themselves line, it brought back a lot of memories of being in school and it happening to people in my class', he said, explaining that as a child he didn't realise why it was happening.
Several family members and whole families from his school emigrated.
'I remember thinking, this is just going to be how it will be, I'll just have to leave Ireland when I'm older. It wasn't until I was 21 that I realised I could stay,' he said.
Róisín McManus from Cavan was 11 when the recession hit.
She said news of the crash and stress over money was a constant during her childhood, something she feels has never left her.
'I think for people in our generation, the recession has followed us, it's marked us, we felt the burden of money from a young age, and we still do', she said. 'At this stage, it's almost like a lifelong experience that money can be tight, and you're always conscious of that,' she added.
'Growing up, I was more conscious of money and how it doesn't go very far,' she said. She recalls noticing things in her life were suddenly different, as trips to the cinema and meals out ended.
Róisín's major memory is of people in their early twenties in her community emigrating for work. She wonders if growing up in this environment has contributed to a pattern where Ireland's young people are once again emigrating.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal