High costs of living are forcing David Kitt to leave Dublin

Having released his first album in nine years under his original moniker back in March, and having been consistently brilliant in his various guises working with the Tindersticks or as New Jackson, things were going well for David Kitt, musically at least.

But it seems to be the case time and time again that country and capital don't value artistic talent whenever short-term financial gain can be achieved. Kitt, who has been influential in the Irish music scene for over two decades now, summed it up in a damning post online yesterday afternoon.

In a Facebook post, Kitt said: "i'm being forced to leave the country i love as i can't afford to live in my hometown any more. i don't want to go. it feels like one of the best periods of creativity i've lived through in this city. having given most of my adult life working my ass off in a profession where those with the power repeatedly fail their own and book festival line ups that make us look like a regional city of the u.k. rather than a country brimming with original talent that deserves more help and platform and proper reward. but that's only 1% of the story. more importantly and worryingly fine gael are failing this city and it's people massively and dublin's heart and soul is being ripped out and sold to the highest bidder. the house i live in just got sold as part of a portfolio to a consortium of european investors. it will be sold or rented no doubt to someone working for amazon on a base salary of 70k while the people who make this city what it is are forced out to the suburbs or to a city they can afford a reasonable quality of life and where their level of income doesn't make them feel like a complete failure. the bottom line is all the real money is being repatriated, the growth is not sustainable or real. have we not learned anything from the last boom and bust cycle? it's worse than the celtic tiger though and the price is too high in terms of people and culture, it's sickening but nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. it will end in tears."

Most of the responses were a mix of sadness and anger at the current situation, with other creatives joining in to affirm that Kitt's position was all too familiar:

I left too, I live in Glasgow now, what's happening in Dublin is heartbreaking

— Kelly-Anne Byrne (@KellyAnneByrne2) July 29, 2018

Serious questions continue to be asked about Ireland's housing sector.