Sarah Harte: Bent over a stone wall, I thought: 'Is this how it ends?' Then a stranger showed up

A roadside health emergency saw the best of West Cork emerge for Sarah Harte, but we can no longer take that neighbourly instinct for granted, she writes 

One noticeable shift in social behaviour in recent years is the phenomenon of bystanders passively filming an accident rather than rushing to help.

If you’ve lived on this planet for a while, you’ve probably figured out that some people are more compassionate than others. Apparently, empathy has a genetic component, can be influenced by familial socialisation, and can even be influenced by the culture you live in.

Living in rural Ireland, I would say there is a strong sense of ‘Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine’. But of course, compassion is not limited to rural communities.