Rurality and development in Ireland - the need for debate?

There is a predisposition in Ireland to take for granted there is such a concept as 'rural' society and that this in some way differs from urban society. This paper seeks to explore the transformation of the 'rural' in Irish society and address the changing use of 'rural' and 'rurality' in Irish development discourse. This paper further seeks to investigate some of the attitudes and understandings of rural issues and how differing perceptions impact on the complex area of rural development. While Ireland is one of the 'more' rural regions in the EU the wide ranging discourse on the rural has largely been ignored. While a short paper like this cannot in itself seek to address this issue, it is hoped that some of the ideas raised will invite further debate on this important arena.