A new “rurban” landscape is developing in Ireland which has blurred the distinction between the urban and the rural, the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, heard yesterday.
Geographer Ruth McManus said this “mesh” could be seen in urban-style housing estates in rural areas, holiday homes and one-off housing with SUVs, automated gates and intercoms, a phenomenon that meant new country dwellers could be cut off from the community.
“How much interaction are you going to have when the opportunity for casual interaction is gone?” she asked.
While people tended to see a monolithic rural Ireland and rural communities, the reality was more complex.
“The duality between the rural and the urban is not satisfactory as a way of understanding where we live today because rural Ireland is not just a place of agricultural production, it is also a place where we can view our lifestyle and our leisure,” said Dr McManus.
However, she said new housing could bring a lot of potential for introducing life into an area, and the 2011 census had shown that broadband access had increased dramatically in rural areas.
“If you can find a way of turning those urban-oriented jobs into rural-based ones you will see more opportunities for community integration.”
Among the other speakers was the general manager of Kerry Radio, Fiona Stack, who said that in a changing world, local radio, more than any other medium, had given a voice to people in rural areas to tell their stories to presenters who were from the same communities.
“There’s no presenter in local radio earning several hundred thousand euro trying to discuss the household charge with a listener on an equal basis.”