Since the turn of the millennium, Ireland has experienced unprecedented growth, in stark contrast to the economic difficulties of the 1900s. Ireland has become one of the world's fastest growing countries. most prosperous countries in Europe in the 2000s. Times were good for Ireland as unemployment was low, growth and GDP were increasing year on year and inflation was constant. In 2008, all this will change and Ireland experiences the worst recession in its history. The banking crisis, the construction sector and poor regulation were the main contributors to the Irish recession. A fiscal crisis erupted, NAMA (National Assets Management Agency) was created to guarantee banks' bad debts and an EU and IMF bailout was agreed, putting a strain on Irish taxpayers. I will explore the causes and consequences of the crisis in this essay. “The Celtic Tiger” was the term used by the Irish to describe the rapid growth that Ireland was witnessing. Ireland was considered "the shining light of Europe" since the beginning of the Celtic Tiger. Only ten years ago, Ireland was considered "the poorest of the rich" in Europe (Ireland Shines, 1997). Around 1987, an open industrial policy targeted multinational corporations (multinational companies) to set up operations in Ireland. The government had decided that Ireland would become a knowledge-based, export-led economy. After the 1990s, Ireland experienced significant growth and a difficult economy in 1987, when unemployment was 18%, the national debt reached 125% of GNP and growth averaged 0.2% over five years , which seemed like a long time ago (Murphy, 2000). At the turn of the millennium Ireland had a small housing stock, the figure being the smallest in Europe. As incomes and population increased, EMU enabled Irish financial lenders to offer mortgages to their customers... middle of paper ... emigration increased steadily (Wp.sme. i.e., 2014). Ireland has seen its exports collapse despite the weakening of the euro. Imports decreased and exports increased. Ireland also faced difficulties in the international financial market after the crisis, as it lost some of its credibility. This was reflected in Irish bond yields, which reached a dangerous level of just under 12% in 2011 (TradingEconomics.com, 2014). The Irish will never forget the 2008 financial crisis in Ireland. A lax regime that allowed bankers to be reckless, an over-reliance on the construction sector and a lack of regulation significantly damaged the Irish economy. However, it is important that Ireland learns from its self-inflicted mistakes and rebuilds its institutions. The economy showed signs of improvement and Ireland finalized its EU and IMF bailout in December. 2013.