McMansion Hell: Ireland Edition

Hello, friends! Until recently, I had no idea there were even McMansions in Ireland. I admit, I am not an expert on Irish architecture in the least, so, Irish compatriots, feel free to correct any mistakes I make. I’m also proud to say that this post is completely free of jokes about Bono.

Irish McMansions (called “muck mansions” there) are particularly interesting because of their links to Irish economic and housing phenomena, as explained below.

The “Celtic Tiger”

During a period lasting from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, the Irish GDP growth rate ranged between 7.8 and 11.5% (slowing to 4.4 - 6.5% in 2001-2007). This was known as the “Celtic Tiger” era.

Reasons for this growth are as follows:

Low corporate tax rate and industrial subsidies drew foreign companies (especially tech companies such as Dell) to Ireland.



These corporate taxes favored non-tradable goods and services such as construction projects.

Low European Central Bank interest rates led to to inexpensive borrowing by Irish banks.

Poor supervision and regulation of banking activities led to the growth of illicit trading and hidden loans, resulting in a controversy that ousted the director of the Anglo Irish Bank in 2008.

The Housing Bubble

Table Source: Wikipedia

Data Source

During the Celtic Tiger era, construction employed a large number of unskilled laborers. From 2000-2006, housing prices doubled as tax incentives drove speculative development, especially in the areas immediately surrounding Dublin.

In 2008, foreign borrowings by Irish banks reached €110 billion. Most of this money was borrowed to fund speculative building projects that wouldn’t go on the market for a considerable amount of time (because, well, speculation.) This led to an oversupply of houses, causing (in simplistic terms) a fall in demand.

As a result, house prices deflated and projects were left unfinished, unoccupied, or abandoned. Other contributing roles to the housing crisis were subprime mortgages similar to the US, and a disproportionate percentage of the population (12.5%) being employed in the construction industry. When the bubble burst, this same population became unemployed.

“Ghost Estates”

The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis defines a ghost estate as developments of “ten or more houses where 50% of the properties are either vacant or under-construction”.



Ghost Estate in County Wexford, 2012. Public Domain.

As prices inflated in Dublin, tax incentives were offered to build heavily in rural areas outside of the city limits, leading to enormous speculation and development. In the aftermath of the 2008 collapse, bankrupt developers who had borrowed heavily from foreign and domestic banks alike began to abandon housing starts.

In 2010, there were 300,000 vacant homes in 621 ghost estates. By 2015, these numbers, through efforts of the Irish government, were cut by 75%.

What is so upsetting about the ghost estates is that they were built mostly in rural communities with little economic development or access to infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. Despite the large homeless population in Ireland, the estates cannot be adapted for reuse as affordable housing stock because they are too far from employment, education, and health care. In addition, Ireland imports the majority of its fossil fuels from foreign agents, and as such, the cost of commuting or owning a car is much higher than in other countries, thus leaving these communities stranded.

The Ugliest Muck Mansions in Ireland

Throughout the week, I searched through over 200 pages of Irish real estate sites in order to really get an idea of what a Muck Mansion looks like. Often, they look rather similar to a McMansion, as we will see.

County Kerry

It turns out that even Ireland cannot escape the phenomenon that is the Beigehaus. I’m quite partial to the random bench on the right, helplessly trying to conceal the fact that the developer forgot a window.

Dude, even if you EQ the heck out of everything below 500Hz, it DOESN’T EVEN MATTER BECAUSE YOU’RE PLAYING YOUR MUSIC THROUGH YOUR TINY MACBOOK SPEAKERS. Acoustics rage!

How that mass with the shed roof got there is one of Ireland’s greatest mysteries.

County Louth

To be fair, munch_the_scream.jpg is how I feel pretty much all the time these days.

County Waterford

(Obligatory Rest in Peace beloved postmodern dining hall from my alma mater. #GoneButNotForgotten)

Addendum: the detached garage is def a mythic rare McMansion Hell trading card.

County Offaly

What an emotional transatlantic journey that turret must have made. Rest easy, brave soul.

County Clare

Persian architecture reference: The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bagh-e Melli (The National Garden, Tehran, Iran)

Photo by blondinrikard (CC-BY-2.0)

There’s precedence for everything, friends!

County Cork

If you type two spaces after a period you are wrong. Don’t send me emails defending yourself. This is a religious belief of mine and it will not change as long as I walk this earth.

Malahide, County Dublin

Someone write a sick guitar solo for that sick roofline.

County Dublin

It wouldn’t be MMH without at least 1 one-liner. Also, has anyone done a The Big Short x Lord of the Rings Crossover fic yet? I’d 10,000% read that.

County Silgo

This could equally be in New Jersey for sure.

And, finally:

County Tipperary

Standard Wannabe Emo Band Track List™:

The Edge of My World

Zombie Love

Vampires are Inside of Me

Like Blood On My Lips

Erase the Sun

Well, that does it for Ireland! I hope you’ve enjoyed this somewhat educational (if depressing) tidbit! Stay tuned for Wednesday’s Certified Dank™ Connecticut special, which I can guarantee will be rather painful.

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