CONG, Ireland
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At the peak of the Celtic Tiger era, an economic boom from 1995 to 2007 that transformed Ireland from one of Europe’s poorest countries into one of its richest, the helicopter pad at County Mayo’s five-star Ashford Castle was buzzing.
Restaurant manager Robert Bowe, who has worked at the iconic lakefront hotel for a quarter century, remembers the arriving passengers. Newly minted Irish tycoons in their 30s, worth $300 million on paper, were eager to drop more t… (View original article)