When leaving student accommodation to move into a house with my friends, the number one thing we were most excited to do was to throw house parties. We visionboarded housewarming parties, birthday parties, Halloween parties, Christmas parties, New Year parties, just because parties. It was not the cooking potential we saw in the spacious kitchen or the plants we could grow in the generous garden. No, it was the thought of stuffing as many friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers as we could into our home. When friends came over for an inaugural drink or dinner, one of the first comments they would make was “Wow, this is such a good party house”, a statement never even thought of when our group occupied Kavanagh Court student accommodation. It is clear we, as students and young adults, are starving for house parties. But why are we salivating over the idea of sweaty bodies, sticky floors, and strangers doing god knows what in your bedroom? Why do we love the house party, and most imperatively, where the hell has it gone?

There are a plethora of reasons for the decline of the house party. In Ireland, perhaps the most crucial one is the crisis of the economy and the housing market. An average night out in Dublin will empty wallets nearly every time. Between the rising cost of drinks (€6.80 for a pint of Guinness at Ciss Maddens!) and the enticing thoughts of a kebab and the convenience of a taxi home, expenses pile up, forcing young adults to sacrifice time with friends in order to meet their basic needs like a filling meal and a roof over their heads. With this comes the cost of a rich and vibrant community, inclusive of all. Compared to the comfort of a party in one’s own home and much lower costs of grabbing your drinks at an off-license, it is no surprise most people would rather frequent a house party than pay a cover fee on the off chance the DJ will actually be playing good music. Along with this, clubs, bars, and pubs just don’t have the same magical intimacy as inviting loved ones into a place that is yours, decorated by you, filled with things owned by you. 

While attempting to find our accommodation, my housemates and I resorted to responding to Instagram stories instead of receiving any real professional help. We had reached out to over 40 properties via the usually suggested Daft.ie and Rent.ie pathways, hearing back from a singular one who told us “no students”. We are not an anomaly. A study published by the National Youth Council of Ireland revealed that 67% of young adults in Ireland found housing the most pressing issue of current times, with 40% dissatisfied with their housing situation. In 2023, the Irish Independent reported 40% of full-time workers under the age of 35 live at home with their parents and 62% of 18-30 year olds were also still at home. Three years on, the housing crisis in Ireland has only intensified, with shortages of homes, increasing rent prices, and a soaring general cost of living. As of January 2025, 69% of 25 year olds are still living at home with their parents. Of this percentage, more than 80 % stated that the reasons for this were either mostly or partly financial. The 2025 Zurich Cost of Education Survey revealed that 57% of students in third level education are living at home due to high costs of accommodation. 

 While the cost of accommodation has gone up, the shortages of homes have as well, leaving viable options few and far between. Finding any sort of private accommodation without selling organs on the dark web should be considered an Olympic sport. Many students and young adults are forced to resort to Facebook Marketplace, where you would be hard pressed to find a listing where some variation of “no parties allowed” is not included. Finding accommodation that is large enough, with good housemates, and a well-suited floor plan has me questioning which saint I am a reincarnation of to have been afforded such luck.

The loss of house parties extends beyond just students. Sure, I can throw a party in my rented home, but a part of me will never be able to fully enjoy it without constantly scanning the space to make sure nobody has cracked a sink, used the corner in the hall as a loo, or broken chairs (all of which have happened to me or a poor loved one). When I was younger and full of hope, I assumed I would be able to own a home. It seemed the natural progression of not just mine, but everyone’s lives. Now, with the state of not just the housing market but the job market as well, that dream seems as far away as my once imagined career as an Olympic equestrian. Landlords and security deposits will always, it seems, stand in the way of truly letting loose in the privacy of my own home. With this barrier, it is only natural that young adults would gravitate towards a neutral location rather than risk extra fines and consequences.   

It is clear from the numbers alone that the house party is a casualty of an ever present and ever worsening housing crisis. When next to nobody is able to move out, and those who do are simply finding rooms in the odd places, the chances of scoring accommodation where hosting a house party is not just a fever dream is dangerously close to zero. Many students are forced to take rooms in houses with strangers, in apartments with overbearing landlords, or couch surf until they can find something. All this is without even mentioning the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way it changed how we interact while socialising as well as our comfort level with large numbers of people, particularly when it comes to our own personal spaces. While the death of the house party may fall low on the list of devastating impacts this crisis has created, its implications are nonetheless highly concerning and demonstrate the larger problem of a lack of community for young adults in a world where jobs and homes always seem just out of reach.