The Relationship between 'Non-successor' Farm Offspring and the Continuity of the Irish Family Farm

Studies of farm families have largely neglected the position of farm offspring who, through necessity or choice, live their lives away from the farm. This article explores how Irish farming offspring who will not or are highly unlikely to be farm successors frame their relationship with the farm, as well as their attitude to and role in the succession process and the continuity of the farm within the family. Particularly, the concern is to know how attachment to/detachment from the farm and home life are shaped and the implications for how they construct their identities. The article is based on a qualitative narrative study of 30 young adults from farm backgrounds attending university. It is argued that the 'non-successors' in this cohort have a deep attachment to the farm as an enduring place in their lives. This has key implications for the desire to retain the farm within the family. The article demonstrates that while there is acceptance of enduring gendered cultural scripts surrounding succession, non-successors demonstrate their attachments in key terms, namely through a collective and secure sense of ownership; a sense of responsibility in maintaining the intergenerational legacy and continuity; and the articulation of the farm as a repository of memories.