<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (March 2018) </Td> </Tr> <P> In an economic analysis, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on 24 June 2008 forecasted the possibility the Irish economy would experience marginal negative growth in 2008 . This would be the first time since 1983 . Outlining possible prospects for the economy for 2008, the ESRI said output of goods and services might fall that year--which would have been the Irish definition of a mild recession . It also predicted a recovery in 2009 and 2010 . </P> <P> In September 2008, Ireland became the first eurozone country to officially enter recession . The recession was confirmed by figures from the Central Statistics Office showing the bursting of the property bubble and a collapse in consumer spending that terminated the boom that was the Celtic Tiger . The figures show the gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of all the goods and services produced in the State, fell 0.8% in the second three months of 2008 compared with the same quarter of 2007 . That was the second successive quarter of negative economic growth, which is the definition of a recession . The Celtic Tiger was declared dead by October 2008 </P> <P> In a November 2008 interview in Hot Press, in a grim assessment of where Ireland stood, then Taoiseach Brian Cowen said many people still did not realise how badly shaken the public finances were . By 30 January 2009, Ireland's government debt had become the riskiest in the euro zone, surpassing Greece's sovereign bonds, according to credit - default swap prices . In February 2009, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said that Ireland's economy appeared on course to contract by 6.5% in 2009 . </P>

When did the celtic tiger end in ireland