"Celtic Tiger" is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, and a subsequent property bubble which rendered the real economy uncompetitive. The Irish economy expanded at an average rate of 9.4 etween 1995 and 2000 and continued to grow at an average rate of 5.9 uring the following decade until 2008, when it fell into recession.