Rural towns need revival charter

Some of the most popular snacks at the three-day National Ploughing Championships at Ratheniska, Co Laois, last week were the ringed doughnuts with the centres hollowed out.

They were savoured as a tasty bite by some of the thousands of people from all over Ireland who attended the annual pageant of country living.

But they also symbolised the economic plight of rural towns and villages whose centres have also been hollowed out with business closures and edge-of-town shopping centres.