Diversifications in Irish broadcasting in the early Celtic Tiger, such as the introduction of Newstalk and TV3, created opportunities for new voices in current affairs and McWilliams presented short-lived shows on both stations.

By 2005, the Celtic Tiger had continued to outlive his prediction of its demise and new pundits (like George Lee, Morgan Kelly, and Eddie Hobbs) were emerging to criticise aspects of the Irish economy.

Conservative pundit David Brooks had found success with his book Bobos in Paradise in which changes in the American economy in the 1990s were explained using nicknames and stock characters to personify economic actors.

[3] In the book, McWilliams introduced terms such as "Breakfast Roll Man", "Deckland", "Kells Angels" (people commuting to Dublin from neighbouring counties) and "HiCo" (Hiberno Cosmopolitans) to explain the economic phenomena of the Celtic Tiger.

The book's description of Gaelscoileanna as aspirational, middle-class and even elitist has been criticised as being based on a narrow sample within Dublin 4 and not an accurate reflection of the movement for Irish-medium education nationally.