Where has everyone gone?

Wow, I really got a weird feeling today.  I had an appointment in town at 10 and thought if I left at 9, I should just make it fighting my way through the traffic.  Well to say I was gob smacked is an under statement, the drive into town was so smooth, hardly any traffic, after finding the place I still had 20 minutes to spare - I thought there would not be parking and I would have to park miles away as it is also close to one of the hospitals, but I was astounded to say the least that I have never seen so many parking spaces open in the middle of town before.

Leaving town I went up past Merrion Square, in this street there are only old Georgian houses which have been turned into offices, practically every 2nd house had a "To Let" or "For Sale" sign on it.  The traffic was also not normal Dublin traffic and I sailed home in a matter of minutes.

It seems like everyone has taken flight, I know a lot of people have gone back to where they came from and on a daily basis I see young Irish people queuing outside the American Embassy obviously looking for student and work visa's.   It seems like all the young people are doing what they did 20 years ago, finishing their studies and applying for their passports.  Ireland seems to be a scary place at the moment.