Stepping out of the fast lane - relocating from city to country

Jim Connolly never wanted to start Rural Resettlement Ireland. It came to him like an inspired dream, a chance to save the rural Ireland he loved, while also offering Dublin families a slice of life on the wild Atlantic coast. The problem was that, once he started dreaming, he couldn’t stop, reports Andrew Hamilton

OVER the past two decades, Rural Resettlement Ireland has helped more than 770 Dublin families make a new life for themselves in the countryside. The impact of the Clare-based charity has been immense, offering a new way of life to thousands of young Dublin children, while simultaneously helping to breathe life into rapidly shrinking rural communities and schools.

This summer, RRI has helped three families to settle into small villages in west Clare. Because of those families, and their young children, a teacher will be saved in three small schools this September.