Photographers » Kim Haughton

Across Ireland, it is estimated that there are 300,000 unoccupied houses and over 600 unfinished 'ghost estates'. As construction was the defining symbol of the boom, these empty edifices, scattered all across the landscape have become symbolic of the bust. At the height of the celtic tiger, 25% of workers were employed in the construction sector when the European average was 8%. These empty properties stand as painful reminders of our fragile hopes and the ephemeral nature of things.