Sir, I am developing a theory, for what it's worth, that railing against the much maligned Celtic Tiger has become a favourite outlet for PreMillennium Tension in Ireland, specifically amongst our intelligentsia and cultural commentators. Could this situation have evolved from our infamous begrudgery of success and wealth? Ireland in on the crest of a wave of prosperity which has become so disliked it seems obligatory to spit when mentioning it. I hate the phrase and the cliches as much as the next person but the volume of criticism the phenomenon receives is amazing.
Ireland of the nineties has been a hospitable place for the majority of its inhabitants. That this is not true for all is undeniable and disgraceful but prosperity is not the root of equality. Disparity is related to the distribution rather than the availability of resources. To herald Ireland of the 21st century as a model of social disintegration and community breakdown is pessimism of the most dangerous kind. To think that a few years of success could in someway damage Irish society and culture is to denigrate the society we have as one noble and valuable only in as far as it is that of a peasant nation doing its best in the face of economic and political adversity. The contrary is true and the luxury of a budgetary surplus to spend on health, education, the arts, or TG4 is a reason for celebration not prophecies of moral wrack and ruin.
In 1999 the future is scary as ever and a certain amount of finde-siecle nonsense is inevitable but Celtictigerophobia is a hysterical and unsophisticated response. To paraphrase a certain wealthy and successful political lobby on this side of the pond; success doesn't ruin people, people ruin people.
Leda Connaughton-Deeny, San Francisco