The countryside is becoming a no-go area for the vulnerable

Independent and resourceful by nature, rural dwellers took last week’s Storm Darwin in their stride.

Nevertheless, it was another body blow to rural Ireland, this time a natural one on top of man-made problems of Government neglect, not just in the recession years but in the boom years that preceded them.

Unemployment and youth mig ration has weakened much of rural Ireland, leaving remote rural areas more dependent than ever on farming alone, itself an industry going through great changes. In social terms, some places have been denuded of the human capacity to help themselves.