David McWilliams: Renaissance Nation

There is a beautiful seat in David McWilliams living room in Dún Laoghaire where you can look out and watch the world go by. On sunny days, you can see yachters walk the promenade with boho artists, outspoken teenagers and manicured mothers with jabbering cockapoos. A father flies by grabbing the sticky hand of his son Tommy, fresh from Teddy’s ice-cream shop. The other item in little Tommy’s hand grabs David’s attention, however. Instead of the oval-shaped rugby ball, the traditional mascot of south Co Dublin, he is holding a hurl. “A hurl,” exclaims David. “There was a time when those things didn’t exist in Dún Laoghaire. When I was in school, there wasn’t even a hurling club but for the last two years Cuala in Dalkey were crowned All-Ireland hurling club champions.”

Renaissance Nation

Now that might not seem like a big deal but in David McWilliam’s newest book, Renaissance Nation, its significance is revealed as he travels with the reader from the promenade in Dún Laoghaire, the holy grail of the east, to the wildest of the Atlantic Way, Inis Meáin.

“My son was over there for transition year this year and something struck me. I found that Inis Meáin voted practically the exact same in the abortion referendum as Dún Laoghaire. So Dún Laoighre is now home of the hurl while the rural island of Inis Meáin voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment. Somewhere along the M6, there was a blurring of the lines. The culchies have invaded the cities and vice versa, and this fusion of our nation became very clear this year as Ireland voted yes in the referendum and the Pope apologised to Ireland. Through this fusion, we have become a more tolerant and commercially successful country.”

Sociologist slash economist

This is the beauty of David McWilliams. While his title is an economist, he laughs but slowly nods when we suggest that perhaps he is also a sociologist. He observes people, he observes society and then relates the facts and figures to people’s actions, rather than it being the other way around.

He makes it relatable. It is why you laugh through the book as he details the people of 2018. The Sleeve, who at 33 years of age is still partying like it’s his early 20s, the man who proves that life’s milestones have been pushed out.

“Twenty years ago, 33 meant a house, marriage and kids. Now people may still be living with their parents,” says David. “Then there is his girlfriend, the Fringe (known for her fashionable haircut), who is still in a house share with eight people in Dublin and heads back home to the parents every weekend. She is not even sure if the Sleeve is the man for her but if it gets her out of this rental accommodation, it could be worth it. There is Sliotar Mom, the Irish cousin of the American Soccer Mom, she could sort a national emergency before breakfast, all from the comfort of her Citroën Picasso as she ferries her kids from swimming to hurling and then rugby practice. And not forgetting the Departed Dub who spends his days driving the motorways of Ireland.”

The good room

In David’s book, you either know one of these characters or you are one of these characters. It’s this sense of recognition and familiarity that had 600 women laughing last year when he spoke at our Women & Agriculture Conference. It was the ‘good room’ that really struck a chord.

“Ah the good room. Now the Irish Country Living women know the good room well. Remember back in the 1980s, it was the room with the fancy leather couch and the piano, most likely a glass cabinet with china in the corner and any graduation picture of a family member, extended or otherwise, that you could boast about. It was where we brought the guests on a Sunday while on every other day of the 52 weeks of the year the family was crammed into the back room. That is like Ireland as a nation; we like to put the best foot forward on the international stage and not show the cracks beneath the surface. Sure we were absolutely mortified when the boys from IMF came to town.”

It was indeed a very dull day for the country, and the property crash was one that David McWilliams loudly predicted.

“It really wasn’t a popular viewpoint during the roaring Celtic Tiger.” What David has been surprised by though is the way in which we bounced back. “It was a recession that could have collapsed us for decades, crippled us for generations but that wasn’t the case. We are back and we are back due to the resilient and hardworking people of this country. The entrepreneurs who took risks, the small SMEs that kept on going, that made something out of nothing.

“Yes 15% of the overall growth rate of the Irish story is down to multinational investment but what explains the other 85%? It’s the small businesses, many of which are based in rural Ireland, that are driving the country forward. These people are the unsung heroes of this nation.”

While we continue to work hard, we may not be aware that the eyes of the world are upon us once again, but from a different perspective.

“Ireland is now richer than California and we are considered a great success story, according to economic professionals in different countries. Our ascension out of recession is fascinating to the rest of the world. They are not just looking at our ‘good room’ anymore but at the fancy new extensions out the back.”

Looking In

The first part of Renaissance Nation sings about our outward success story but as we dig deeper to the individual level, we see pressure on the individual, especially when it comes to the housing situation. Our homeless rates continue to increase and many of those who have good stable jobs can’t get on the property ladder.

To the man who predicted the crash, we ask what is the answer to our real recovery?

“A land site tax. We as a nation have a serious obsession with land, the emotional and historical attachment to it and as a result, some land in this country is being hoarded. I believe there should be a site tax, especially for land that is being hoarded by developers who are waiting for the right time to strike. This doesn’t apply to land that is being used. Active farming land that is functional and driving the country forward should not be affected by this but instead the land that is lying idle.”

David says there also needs to be a focus on infrastructure on the corridor from Galway to Limerick and Cork. “Let’s focus on the services, lets get one million people living in that area of the country, make it more accessible, expand educational services, make it even more attractive for businesses. We have three vibrant cities there already. It’s about making it work even better.” And as David likes to finish on a final note of hilarity he says: “Dermot Bannon would have a ball. Lots more properties to put big glass boxes on the back of.”

Renaissance Nation: How the Pope’s Children Rewrote the Rules for Ireland, by David McWiliams, published by Gill Books, is out now in all good bookstores. RRP €22.99