Dublin Get's Early Xmas Lights - But, As Property Prices Slump, It's Doom & Gloom For Xmas 2008 In Ireland...
Dublin's early Xmas lights failing to dispel high street gloom... Christmas is coming early to Dublin this year as city officials try to dispel the gloom from the country's first recession in two decades. Mayor Eibhlin Byrne will switch on the Irish capital's festive lights display on Nov. 9, before cities such as London, New York and Edinburgh, after bringing the ceremony forward by three weeks from last year. ''For retailers, it's not an easy time,'' said Byrne. ''We are harking back to John F. Kennedy and we are asking not what your city can do for you but what you can do for your city.'' Irish shoppers powered the fastest-growing economy in Western Europe over the last five years. Now, consumers are cutting spending as unemployment rises and property prices slump. Gerry Harvey, chairman of Sydney-based electronics and furniture retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., which has four Dublin stores, described Ireland's economy as '