Celtic Tiger: Ireland's 'ghost estates'
How the collapse of Ireland's Celtic Tiger led to thousands of abandoned housing estates
Witness History · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
In 2006, Michele Burke and her fiancé William were looking forward to moving into their dream home in the picturesque town of Killaloe, in Ireland.
But when Ireland's economic boom - known as the Celtic Tiger - ended and the global financial crisis of 2008 hit, construction on Michele and William's new house abruptly stopped.
The couple were stuck paying a mortgage on a home they couldn't move into. They were not the only ones struggling. During the recession, there were more than 1,000 abandoned 'ghost estates' in Ireland.
Michele tells Vicky Farncombe about her eight-year fight to move into her house.
(Photo: Michele Burke outside her abandoned home in Killaloe in 2013. Credit: BBC)