Relics of the Celtic Tiger

"Over the past number of months, I’ve noticed something sneaking back into Ireland again: money on the ground. Its interesting to note as between 2003 and 2008 I built up a collection of coins which I found on the floors of shops, fore courts and the streets of Ireland during the years of the Celtic Tiger. Some were dropped in front of my eyes as I’d be paying for something. I remember a builder being handed back change one day and when he dropped 10 cent he turned to the cashier and said “sure it’s not worth picking up.’’ In that moment I said to myself, “there will be a time when he’ll be glad of that 10 cent”. And in the years that followed, we all know what happened. I hung onto the collection and have them in a jar labelled ‘Relics of the Celtic Tiger’. Roll on ‘the green shoots of recovery’ I’m witnessing the same culture sneak back into Ireland again. A few months back, I was behind a fella in his early thirties at an ATM in Wexford and as he took out his cards he dropped two 20 cent coins and left them there. Never bothered to pick them up, even though he clearly saw them fall. His actions, or lack of, speak volumes. "