Ireland is a land of culture, of the arts, music, poetry and upspeakable natural beauty for which it is famed throughout the world. But there is one other thing it has become famed for, and it’s not Guinness. Ireland was, until recently, the Celtic Tiger.
With liberal tax incentives, Ireland was a, and still is, a haven for multi national companies who flocked to the Emerald Isle largely due for financial reasons, but also because of a talented, affordable, educated and multi-lingual workforce. The economy boomed. The housing market made developers more money than they knew what to do with. And the government’s coffers swole with cash from the proceeeds of a building boom the likes of which Ireland had never seen before.
Out of all this rose some spectacular new buildings. And here, with the help of the guys at Lagan Water, are some of the finest examples.
Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge
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Location: Drogheda
This bridge is one of the most iconic constructions from the Celtic Tiger period. It represents a bold new Ireland, which, importantly, is a key component in the motorway linking north and south of the country.
Dublin Spire
Location: O’Connell Street, Dublin
The Spire has been a point of contention ever since it was first unveiled to a divided public. Bold and unashamedly modern in its design, the Spire has been daubed everything from “The Binge Syringe” to “The Stiletto in the Ghetto”, and many more more that are too salacious to print here.
Grand Canal Theatre
Location: Dublin
Designed by Daniel Liebskind, the Grand Canal Theatre is the linchpin of the redeveloped docklands area (which is also home to Google and a raft of other foreign tech companies).
