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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Rural Ireland changes rapidly as old ways fade away -- Facing a Facebook future as times change rapidly

Posted on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 07:14 AM

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The local mart - no longer the common gathering spot for rural Ireland

Rural Ireland is changing rapidly with many of the mainstays of that culture fading fast.

A friend from rural Tipperary put it best to me last week during my visit to Ireland.

We were driving to Belfast from Dublin and I was remarking on how the new highways, while wonderful, where changing the way people saw Ireland nowadays, no roads through rural towns and villages anymore, where much of the charm of Ireland lay.

He said rural Ireland had changed forever.

“Time was when people would gather at the fair day which is now mostly a memory, or the mart which no longer really happens.

“Before they’d gather outside mass but fewer and fewer are going nowadays because of all the scandals and the emigration.”

Even the most hallowed place, the pub, has its shortcomings today.

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“Even that ritual has become far less common nowadays because so many pubs have closed or locals are afraid of drunk driving because of the massive crackdowns. People mostly drink at home now.”

The only mainstay left he declares is the local GAA team, the sports of hurling and football played in every parish in Ireland.

“Were it not for the GAA there would be no community spirit in Ireland at all,” he says emphatically. “It has come down to them.”

It is definitely true. The GAA team plays for the pride of the village or townland and has seriously deep roots in the community.

But in every other way the rural Ireland that we all knew is dying fast and neighbors are far less neighborly than they were even a few years ago.

It is not all downhill. Things have actually gotten a bit better since the demise of the Celtic Tiger when the emphasis was on big brash homes where keeping people out rather than fostering community bonds was the norm. There are not too many MacMansions any more.

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There has also been the advent of Facebook which has heavily impacted rural Ireland. I see it on my Facebook friend’s feeds who live in rural Ireland where it is a whole new way of communicating news.

Reports of break ins, local events, places to go with kids are all on Facebook daily now, replacing the community bulletins of old.

My niece’s Facebook last week in rural Meath was full of news of where Santa was showing up, how a car had been broken into, where the old folk’s Christmas luncheon was being held.

Rural Ireland is changing and adapting to the modern world. Whether Facebook will ever take the place of the gathering outside Mass or the pint on a Saturday night remains to be seen.

Someone once defined life’s three great needs as food, love and gossip. I’m inclined to agree and think rural Ireland will be fine, just different, in the future as there will always be lots of those three components to be found! See more: GAA

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WoundedKnee | Dec 10, 2012, 02:16 PM EST

One of the biggest factors in destroying social solidarity and community in Ireland, both rural and urban, has been the importation of huge numbers of foreign nationals. It's amazing to see the numbers of Poles, Indians, Paks etc. hanging around the centers of even tiny villages in Ireland. They're an alien presence, which is helping to destroy the feeling of shared values and common purposes which goes to make up a national community. Living in Ireland now is like living in an airport terminal--countless people with nothing in common all rushing around with their own goals and agendas.

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WoundedKnee | Dec 10, 2012, 02:11 PM EST

"There are not too many MacMansions any more." Are you telling us that the ones built over the past decade or two have been knocked down? They haven't.

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ejcphoto | Dec 10, 2012, 01:00 PM EST

Hi and thanks for sharing this.. I believe that this is on track for what is happening in Rural Ireland. Being American and having lived in a small rural village for 3 years, I had a different experience to some degree. The village, Kilcrohane in West Cork was a vibrant little place most of the time. It has its own market comprised of local producers, a general store, 2 pubs that are very active and lots of socializing after mass on Sunday that spills over to the pub. In season, there is a very good restaurant with great atmosphere and food that offsets the pub fare. In addition, The closest town, Bantry continues to have a large market every friday and the market on the first of the month is a throwback to 30 years past.You can buy a cow, a horse and some sheep. Again, maybe I'm seeing it thru naive eyes, but I experienced the rural as alive. I'll admit, I don't know what it was 30 years ago.

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Helen Ferone | Dec 10, 2012, 12:38 PM EST

I have traveled many times to Ireland, and much of the beauty for me is the rural areas especially in Connemara where you can see the old cottages in the distance, and farmers still toiling the fields for crops. They are an unusually friendly and kind people and I have never been disappointed when I return to Ireland. While up-dating some of their roads to by-pass big cities, leave the rural areas alone. I don't mind stopping my car when I see the sheep in the middle of the road. After all, they live there I don't, and if I want turnpikes, parkways, shopping mall, etc. I can stay home, but when I vacation just send me back to Ireland.

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Helen Ferone | Dec 10, 2012, 11:03 AM EST

I have been to Ireland many times, and have always found the beauty of Ireland to be the rural areas such as Connemara, and hopefully that won't change. The small villages as compared to the big city are beautiful, and the people kind and friendly. If I want large shopping centers, turnpikes, and parkways I can stay home. I go there to get away from all that, and simply enjoy a simpler life. Especially in Connemara you can still see older cottages, the farmers working in the fields, etc. Life isn't easy, I'm sure, but the beauty of it is well worth it.

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michaelidaho | Dec 10, 2012, 09:48 AM EST

“Rural Ireland changing rapidly with many of the mainstays of that culture fading fast.” Niall, nothing like stating the obvious. After a hiatus of 16 years, I finally was able to visit Ireland this past May. The most dramatic changes I witnessed were in the small towns in rural Ireland. Besides nothing going on in the passing countryside, the smaller towns lacked their former hustle and bustle that I witnessed during the 1970s and 1980s. Many shops and homes were empty, there were far fewer people walking about and many of them contained a much higher percentage of tourists and foreign nationals. Every pub I went into, there were hardly any people, the staff was not Irish born and most of the patrons were tourists. In fact, I stopped in Lisdoonvarna at 8:00 PM to get a bite to eat and the only place that was open was a pizza shop owned by Indians across the street from three closed pubs. Interestingly, all of the patrons inside the pizza place were Irish. Although the bigger towns actually seemed busier than previous decades (e.g. Westport, Ennis, Castlebar and Athlone), there appeared to be very little going on in the smaller towns. Sadly, I believe Facebook, I-Phones and other electronic gadgets will only accelerate the decline of the once vibrant, warm social life of rural Ireland that lasted for centuries, centered on the pub, church and tea with the neighbors.

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jamieLM | Dec 10, 2012, 09:35 AM EST

There's an old American saying, "There's nothing permanent but death and taxes." Change comes to just about everything in life with the passing of time.

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CitizenWhy | Dec 10, 2012, 08:23 AM EST

The GAA, since its inception, has been the most positive institution in Ireland. Thank you, GAA.

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