Tourists are attracted to local people in places they visit as well as to scenery, according to a report drawn up to defend the “positives” in rural Ireland and to press for change in national and regional policies.
The study, The Rural Challenge – Empowering Rural Communities to Achieve Growth and Sustainability, was undertaken at the Institute of Technology Tralee at the behest of the GAA, the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Association in Kerry. IRDA chairman James Doyle said there was “too much dictation” of policy and not enough consultation. Neil O’Sullivan, spokesman for the three groups, said rural Ireland was “the repository of our heritage, our native language, our music . . . customs, traditions, our folk ways and our folklore”. James McCarthy, Kerry IFA chairman, said there was a real fear that “what makes us Irish” would be lost forever.