WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010

PUBLIC PROGRAM

ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE REGISTER AT THE DOOR.

IRELAND’S ECONOMY AND THE DEATH OF THE
CELTIC TIGER

Fintan O’Toole, Columnist and Critic, Irish Times

According to Fintan O’Toole, the most spectacular bust of the global financial crisis was not the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers or the near-collapse of AIG, but the demise of the entire economy of Ireland. Asserting that the death of the Celtic tiger is not an extinction event to trouble naturalists, because there was, in fact, nothing natural about this tiger, O’Toole contends that the Irish economic miracle was built on good old-fashioned European Union subsidies and the simple fact that until the 1980s Ireland was, by the standards of the developed world, so economically backward that the only way was up. And as it began to catch up to European and American averages, the boom lured in investors, the Irish government deregulated and all but abandoned financial oversight, and the rest is history. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs welcomes Fintan O’Toole to share his insights on the past, present, and future of the Irish economy.

Fintan O’Toole is a columnist and critic for the Irish Times. The author of several books, he is also a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, Granta, and other publications. He was elected Irish Journalist of the Year in 1993, and was a drama critic for the New York Daily News from 1997-2001. He currently lives in Dublin.

His latest book, Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic Tiger, will be available for purchase and signing following the program.

Additional Resources:

• Gregory Connor, Thomas Flavin and Brian O’Kelly, "The U.S. and Irish Credit Crises: Their Distinctive Differences and Common Features," Irish Economy Note No. 10, March 2010
• Paul Krugman, "An Irish Mirror," Op-Ed, New York Times, March 7, 2010
• Henry Chu, "Irish Public Pays a Price for Nation's Fiscal Austerity," Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2010
• Terry Eagleton, Book review of "Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic Tiger," The Guardian, November 28, 2009
• Fintan O'Toole, "The Landed Class Who Blew the Bubble," Irish Times, October 24, 2009
• Fintan O'Toole, "Propping Up of Rotten Banks is a Huge Con Job," Irish Times, September 22, 2009
• Fintan O'Toole, "Gambling All for a Prize Not Worth Winning," Irish Times, August 25, 2009
• National Public Radio, "Ireland's Economy: More Kitten Than Celtic Tiger," Interview with Fintan O'Toole, March 17, 2009

The Chicago Club
81 East Van Buren Street
Chicago, IL 60605
Business attire is required.

5:30 p.m. Registration and cash bar reception
6:00 p.m. Presentation and discussion
7:15 p.m. Book signing and cash bar reception

Young Professional Members $10
Members $20
Nonmembers $30
President’s Circle, Corporate Members, and Student Members complimentary

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