The State’s ‘active discrimination against rural Ireland’ has caused the death of many western communities, a historian has claimed. 

The demise of once thriving communities is a common story in Irish history. 

Despite having produced generations of talented writers, the Blasket Islands in Kerry were evacuated by the State in 1954 due to the difficulty of providing essential services to the community.  

Dr Liam Heffron believes other communities in the west of Ireland are slowly suffering the same fate. 

“North Mayo has suffered catastrophic depopulation and if you take that community alone since the Famine times… has lost 90% of its population,” he told The Hard Shoulder. 

“On the island of Ireland, there’d be less than a million people if the whole island had [suffered] the same depopulation pressures. 

“But it’s not just Moygownagh in north Mayo, this is throughout the western seaboard from Donegal down to Kerry. 

“You see it where GAA clubs are forced to amalgamate into three or four clubs to try and field one 15 player team.” 

View of Valentia Island in Kerry. Image: Trish Punch/Zuma Press/PA Images

On one occasion when carrying out an interview for his PhD on revolutionary history, Dr Heffron recalled how an elderly man asked him to come out into the garden with him. 

“He said, ‘Can you hear it?’” he said. 

“I didn’t really know what he was talking about. All I heard was a dog barking and a car. 

“He said, ‘It’s the wind. All I hear now is myself and the wind. The kids that I would normally hear playing in a school have stopped playing because the school has closed. 

“‘They’ll never play again.’”

The Conor Pass in Kerry. Picture by: Alamy.com

Dr Heffron said it is a phenomenon that anyone in the West of Ireland will be familiar with. 

“For example, the main road between Crossmolina and Ballycastle runs through Moygownagh,” he said. 

“Two-years ago, the County Council decided for economic reasons and because there’s less people, they’re not going to grit the road. 

“So, during this weather right now, you’re going to have ice and the road won’t be gritted. 

“These are all small little daggers into the community and eventually people say, ‘I’m not going to live there.’”

For Dr Heffron, the blame for depopulation lies squarely with the State that is meant to look after rural communities. 

“This isn’t just the natural way of things,” he said. 

“The Government and the State establishment are actively discriminating against rural areas and these communities. 

“The very nature of what they do is creating the problem.”

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Main image: A derelict cottage. Picture by: Alamy.com