Liam Quaide: Rural Ireland is not a costume to put on for political theatre 

Rural Ireland is far more diverse and inclusive than the monolith portrayed by some who patronise us by claiming to represent it
Liam Quaide: Rural Ireland is not a costume to put on for political theatre 

Mick Lally as Miley Byrne and Emmet Bergin (Dick Moran) in a scene from the Irish rural soap opera ‘Glenroe’ which ran from 1983 to 2001. Rural Ireland accommodates a diversity of outlooks — not least in terms of protecting our environment.  Picture: RTÉ

Fri, 08 May, 2026 - 06:01
Liam Quaide

Our political debate increasingly features representatives of ‘rural Ireland’ speaking as if it were a single place, outlook, or type of person.

These public figures claim to represent the “real workers”, the “real people” of rural Ireland — “ordinary people” supposedly misunderstood or sneered at by Dublin-based officials and politicians.

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