Let's not exaggerate matters, Ireland isn't going to lose its position as one of the most prosperous countries in Europe and hence in the world. But they did have a housing bubble that was perhaps even uglier than America's, and the Icelandic problem of having banks too big for the government to support properly when the need came. So things will be tough for a number of years, and even when recovery comes, I doubt they'll be returning to their high growth rates - among other reasons because they were just catching up, and are more than caught up now.