E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
Fencing placed in front of The Waterways, an empty and unsold housing development in the village of Keshcarrigan, County Leitrim, Ireland, on Jan. 28, 2012.
Reuters photographer Cathal McNaughton reports on the lasting effects of Ireland's financial crisis:
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
An electrical cable is used to secure a security fence surrounding Cnoc an Iuir, an empty and unsold housing development in the village of Drumshanbo, County Leitrim.
"If you build it, they will come." The iconic quote from the film Field of Dreams seems like a rebuke to Ireland's misguided builders and planners as the depressing sight of rows of newly built empty houses – windows broken and doors flapping in the wind – stretch out in the distance.
I'd come to Co Leitrim, in the west of Ireland, to see for myself the so-called ghost housing estates that first came to the public's attention four years ago as the Celtic Tiger collapsed leaving thousands of developers bankrupt and projects half finished. Surely in four years, something would have been done about this national embarrassment – so obvious a sign of the demise of Ireland’s once envied economy?
But the only solution that seems to have been put into action is fencing off the estates – hiding the embarrassing problem behind huge sheets of wood – leaving the houses to crumble into disrepair away from the gaze of despairing neighbours who paid full price for an identical house just 200 yards away.
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
Unfinished houses at The Waterways, Keshcarrigan.
Hardly a town or village in Leitrim – the least populated county in Ireland and the worst affected by the over-enthusiastic builders – has been untouched. Pretty lakeside villages with perhaps just 200 residents now have 50 empty 'dream homes' in new developments where fading advertising signs boast of private moorings and roof gardens. Larger market towns have row upon row of once smart new town houses – clearly built with the upwardly mobile commuters who were supposed to move to the countryside as part of the government's largely ignored decentralisation project – now with brambles growing over the gardens, potholed roads unfinished and adorned with graffiti by the kids who use them as drinking dens.
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
Fenced-off houses at The Waterways, Keshcarrigan.
Impressive holiday homes with 'stunning sea views' lie vacant with at most one unlucky tenant sharing their ghost street with long-abandoned builder's rubble and broken advertising signs banging in the wind at night keeping them awake.
Surprisingly many of the houses aren't even for sale any more – even if a buyer could be found in the precarious Irish financial market.
One resident – the sole home owner in a once stunning lakeside development – explained. "These were all sold but the developer needed more money from the bank to finish it and they refused. He went bust and that was that."
See more images on the Reuters Photographers Blog.
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
The ironically-named Crest Of A Wave, an empty and unsold housing development in the village of Bundoran, County Donegal.
Leave a Comment:
Sounds familiar ....
Well, If the World Economy keeps going into the pockets of the World's FEW EVIL RICH. There is going to be a WORLD economic Collapse; Much MUCH Worse then what has happened already.
In Prosperous times, SHARING of wealth and World Resources played an essential role.
You Know What?? It is time for Humanity to Go anyway; What WE have done to the Planet...
Well what you waiting for......
Very much so it sounds familiar. Go to youtube and look for spanish houses in the same shape. The Europeans where fed a bad line and now they are paying for it.
Wow, They sure don't show this stuff in the Travel Brochures, do they?
I am so glad to see what happened with the real estate bubble in the first place. The International Jew, the worlds foremost problem was a book written by Henry Ford . However it should have been The International Banker. You see what these globalists are trying to do is divide and conquer. Turn Ireland into a melting pot of all nationalities so Ireland no longer has an identity. At the same time they wanted to destroy all the worlds economies including Ireland which they were successful at doing in order to form The New World Order and a global currency. They will not stop. They are psychopaths. I'm thrilled to see that Ireland won't turn into a den of @!$%#.
Go ahead Phantom, we'll be right behind you, promise...
And take your socialist rhetoric with you. You really think wealth was being shared in prosperous times? Ask the proverbial "starving children in Africa" how much of the world's wealth was being shared with them. Maybe within countries like the US and UK, wealth distribution was a little more uniform, but how does that help everyone else? Not to mention, the so-called "wealth" of first-world countries like these is all just imported from the sweat shops of third-world countries, at their expense. Face it, you don't actually care about the real suffering in the world, you just want to be better off yourself. Just another hypocrite.
Hey PhantomBeast,
while you argument starts strongly, it soon falters.
First of all, being "rich" does not make you evil.
Your line saying "In Prosperous times, SHARING of wealth and World Resources played an essential role." is clueless, and proves you've never studied history.
The wealthy have always hoarded (ie the Catholic church) and separated themselves. Sharing rarely occurred, except among neighbors, friends and families. The concept of communal sharing is relatively new; Karl Marx was a strong supporter.
Ironically, I agree with what you're trying to say.
But to get your message across you need to polish up on your grammar and history.
Good luck.
Why go too far?
California, especially Sacramento, has many places like these!
Phantom: your inane silly comment simply can not be supported by facts. Your statement about those that have earned the wealth they have is simply the ignorant rant of a loser. In the game of life those who risk it all, makes the sacrifices to succeed are entitled to the rewards they HAVE EARNED. Those who chose to sit on the sidelines waiting for the next GVT handout have also earned their reward - reap what you sow. Your a loser because you never made the investments in life to succeed now your unhappy with your life choices and your failures - ah well suck it up loser
I am happy to find out that we are not the only country with vandals. :)
Perhaps I should be sad but I'm not, we're no worse than the rest.
What risks have you taken?
Irish banks risked plenty and lost. Now, the people of Ireland are picking up the tab. Is this what they are "entitled" to?
ahh.. more places to play paintball..!!..
I'll bet this is the town mentioned in the book "Boomerang".
Several years ago we had one of these Irish "developers" buy out the Quay in Sarasota, FL. The Quay had been built in the late 1980s. It was kind of an upscale shopping plaza with several restaurants, nightclubs, stores, and offices - located next to the waterfront Hyatt.
This "developer" rolled into town and claimed he was this big time builder in Ireland and could turn the property into a huge billion dollar resort. So the city rushed through his permits and let him tear the Quay down. Then it turned out the guy was full of crap - he was broke and didn't have enough money to build even an IHOP. So all those businesses that he ran out of the Quay are gone, and all Sarasota has is the most expensive empty lot in Florida.
Bro - been to Fla and have seen first hand the devastation and the effect on the surrounding areas - and the end result is that the entire - the entire neighborhood suffers for a very long time. A depressed area does not get better, only gets worse - so a semi-middle class area degrades - quickly. It really was sad.
God bless all those speculators - NOT - I personally hope there's a place in hell for them, where the fire is hotter and deeper.
What makes it look worse is that all the pictures taken were so dreary. Ireland should go back to its tourism roots. I would love to own a vacation home there. Loved every visit and the weather was always good.
If you like gale-driven rain and highs of about 72 in the summer, then yes, the weather is always good in Ireland.
I would like to just visit there for maybe a month or so. Probably in the spring. Maybe not; I'd hate to have the Irish Spring soap jingle going on in my head--maybe in the winter. Maybe not; my great-great grandmother died of the cold there, before her husband and son emigrated to Maryland. Maybe...whatever. I'm flat broke and in debt, so I doubt if I'll ever get over there. *sigh*
Agreed Vox - Ireland is one my favorite places to visit. It is beautiful and the people treat you like they've known you their whole lives.
Ireland is a wonderful country and everyone should visit it. But tourism is largely confined to the southern coastal arc running from Dublin to Galway. Tourism alone cannot sustain 4,000,000 people.
Our news media seem to focus on other countries and less on our own. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and have their homes foreclosed and there is little news about these Millions in America.
Why are there no news about our poor and the poorest? Oh, there is no money in it for such reports to be published and it could even place the news media into negative light, their rating may drop tremendously.
Our news is not about the Truth but rating..... Hm... We are screwed.
You're kidding right? You don't see stories every day about foreclosures and unemployment in America? You need to open your eyes a little wider... whew!
You see stories about the number of Foreclosures. The percentage of Foreclosures. The "help" for people in Foreclosure. You don't or rarely see the faces of the people. Lost my home recently. Too late for help now. City still wants me to pay for water at a home I no longer own or live in. No water is being used. The bill is approx. $100 a month I don't have. Go figure.
Mo,
Sorry to hear it. May better times be ahead for you.
So sorry, Mo.
Stand Up For America, you need to get your eyes and your hearing checked. The only thing that seems to keep the local newspaper floating is the official notices of foreclosures and bankruptcies.
Probably all built on prime farmland...
Not in Leitrim.
Maybe not Leitrim, but a lot of good farmland around Dublin was suburbanized or turned into golf courses. My wife's family was waiting for the prices to go higher before they sold their land - now of course no one will want it if they gave it away.
Already?...
Hmm.
Wont be long now.
tough
Wait a minute. Supply side economics says these homes should be selling like hotcakes! There is a huge supply of them.
WHAT? You mean demand drives the economy? Say it aint so Ronny!
systembroke: you are obviously not an economist or have any clue what supply side economics is about. A surplus in supply does not translate to a buying frenzy for the item - it simply translates that an equilibrium will be reached between demand, price and supply. Each is dependent upon the other 2. Price drops as demand declines and supply increases, as demand increases, price increases until supply is sufficient to meet demand then price stabilizes. Not a difficult concept but what your missing - no where in this model is there anything set aside for the losers in society that simply "expect" others to take care of them
Ternan - the group you are talking about, the losers who take huge risks who "expect" others to
bail them out if wrong -- that would not be the big Wall St. bankers and IPO investors who think they know more than the market, and whine and bring lawsuits when proven wrong. Is it this group you are referring to ????
Ireland will come back, but hopefully people everywhere will remember that if the boom times seem too good to be true, they probably are.
This could just as easily be a vacant development in Greece ... or Las Vegas. Unfortunately, there is no money to finish them, and if the units could be finished, there is no easy financing to sell them with anymore. Some of these units will have to be bulldozed (probably at government expense) to prevent blight from taking hold in these neighborhoods. Better an empty grass field than a maze of deteriorating housing that turns into drug dens or worse.
Here in West Palm Beach FL they completely bulldoze and remove all signs there were houses in these areas. No reason not to. They will deteriorate and no one would buy them anyway. Now the ones the banks own they don't do it to. Banks won't let them but they don't take care of them either. It is still a good idea though because a grassy expanse at least is not providing an area for drug deals, etc. to go on and it is definitely better for the neighborhoods. It almost provides a park like environment and is not so much of an eyesore.
There are "faded dreams" such as this all across America ....I have learned from all this to live within my means. To have goals is good but keeping up with the Jones's......I'm over that. Myself and my family have chosen to live a self reliant sustainable lifestyle.....
Good for you sitting bull.
Thanks Ray ..... Sitting Bull was a badass ..
Celtic pig in a poke! They need to hire the Detroit housing manager to come and tear down the rotting houses just like Detroit is doing. Perhaps the locals should have had the developer post a surety bond that would pay off if the houses were not finished! Greedy town councils! Toss the rascals OUT!
The housing should have been protected by government for future use. Instead countless millions of dollars wasted.
It wasn't dollars wasted
Here's your cycle: rich and greedy screw most of the world; world gets fed up and does a French Revolution; the rich left stay cool for awhile, then they screw us over again until we stand up again and fight.
Never ending cycle because greed never ends.
The Irish idea "build it and they will come" came to me personally when I was considering setting up a plant in Ireland in 1982--at that time the industrial people in Dublin showed me industrial plants by the dozen that had been built on speculation----eventually luck was with them and they filled them and built more------------but "all good things come to an end, enventually!!!"
It's all about JOBS ...
Only buy MADE IN USA goods and services and help keep this type of poverty from becoming a plague in America.
Hahahahahaha want to know what is funny about your comment Grizzly...you would be buying Toyota, Kia, and Hyundia cars.
You wouldn't be using toothpaste, toothbrushes, tv's, or even the computer your using to log on and post a message to the discussion.
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid (Made in America).
Grizzly: In what part of the country do you live?
I've seen "this type of poverty," as you call it, in parts of the USA. I live in New York and go to Florida twice a year for holidays with family members. There is the same sorts of devastation all over the so-called Sunshine State, from Tampa to Jacksonville, and in Palm Coast, Pensacola and West Palm Beach. In 2010, two of the five counties with the highest unemployment rates in the US were in Florida.
I haven't been to Nevada or California in a long time, but I understand that those states are full of similar blighted ghost towns. So, for that matter, are parts of Texas.
Have you been to Buffalo NY?
PatsFan:
Time to learn the correct use of your and you're. You appear to have the education of a 4th grade student when you get it wrong.
You're = you are. Your =something that belongs to you.
World War three, anyone.
The world and
The World and our own existance is based on cycles---Day/Night--Winter/Summer--Birth/Death and etc, etc. and so it is with business and everything else------as the Victorians would say "If you do not experience bad, then how will you know what good is??"
Go to California you can see the same there too.
Where in California? I live in Carlsbad and you can drive for 100 miles east, north or south and see nothing like that. If I go west I'll get wet.
Stockton
WhiteMenace - Yes, Stockton, and most anywhere in Sacramento County also I guess. Hopefully things will change in the future.
It will change, but it will be slow and painful, something the we American people (as a whole) don't seem to want to hear. We feel change and prosperity must happen overnight or we complain and look for someone /something to point fingers at.
Well said WhiteMenace, well said.
So, who let this happen? Ourselves. Who can we point fingers at? Ourselves.
Last I read, the U.S. Constitution, stated as follows: "We the People of the United
States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Want to fix the U.S.? Encourage the unemployed to start small businesses. Or, you employed people start saving some money, take a leap of Faith, start your own business, and let the unemployed have your job.
Who is going to fix America? Ourselves.
We don't need Republicans and Democrats...we need leaders.
Gone are the days when a farmer from Virginia could be elected POTUS.
Couldn't agree with you more....even if you are a NE Patriots fan:)
We use to have statesmen in goverment, now we have politicians
Okay, Pats Fan...
What kind of "small businesses" are these people going to open? What will they make? To whom will they sell? Where will the initial capital outlay come from?
Do you not realize that the wealthy elite have almost all of the money? Where is your magic business going to come from? There is no middle class left to buy up things made by small businesses. Small businesses can't compete with low-wage importers from overseas.
The business model today does not easily allow this, because the venture capital is being hoarded by the wealthy elite!
What fraking planet are you on?
I am 50 years old, have a job, not wealthy and think I have a good idea for a small business, I'm going to go for it. The business plan has been written and I'm moving forward. I hope to hire a few people within one year. I don't want to be fearful, I want to have dreams and goals all of my life.
Such a decent, simple people thrown to the wolves by the NWO and the criminal financiers. I hope this will help Ireland as the Hollywood and Washington DC NWO, sordid types wanted nothing more than to destroy the old ways and Catholicism in Ireland. May Ireland overcome the modernist warmongering crooks, the ones that are ripping America apart. I can only remember the simplicity and kindness in the west of Ireland.
I sure hope some rich developers are hurting because of this! They build the same kind of overpriced, overblown McMansions right here in Suburban Philly. I really despise these development monstrosities because I know that that is where my country's wealth and birthright has gone... money that should have gone to helping our environmental problems, ensuring a future for my children, and a decent economy where they could find jobs... all sucked into this giant black hole of Wasted Housing!!! And then the folks who are stupid enough to buy these McPalaces are now crying poverty.
Let 'em all decay & collapse!
Sounds like one of the fortunate few living in a low rent lice infested tent in a public park.
Greed, pure and simple. in the 1%'s quest for having everything, this is the result. The same problem has been occuring over and over again. When will we learn????
I think its safe to say that developers and bankers worlwide really pulled a fast one on everyone. I think we should let them sit until they turn back to dust - no one should buy them - it serves the greedy bastards right.
Can I have one? I might actually be able to afford one of these in Ireland. It would be the first time my family could afford to go back, and they look about like whatever my family lived in before they came to America.
You are unable to own land in Ireland. European Union residents only.