AHEAD of Wednesday’s ‘Building Rural Communities – Lessons from Sport’ conference at MIC, St. Patrick’s Campus, Thurles, the opinion of people in rural areas were canvassed as to how challenged these communities are now.
With rural Ireland experiencing population declines of 20% and more over the past five years compared to urban growth of up to 8 per cent, it’s clear that the urban migration and emigration trend continues unabated.
While much depends on Government to follow through on promises of correcting the slide, there’s an equal onus on all who live in and care for rural Ireland to be creative and innovative so that we reimagine and build communities that will not alone stop the decline but begin to grow again.
To that end, the Institute for Pastoral Studies at MIC, St. Patrick’s Campus, Thurles will on host an evening conference this Wednesday, from 7pm to 9:30pm, titled ‘Building Rural Community – Lessons from Sport’.
The theme for the conference was selected on the basis that sport is not alone the glue for many communities today but also it is in its own right a business opportunity for each and every county.
The conference takes place at 7p.m. and will have speakers including Pat Spillane, Anna May McHugh, John ‘Bull’ Hayes and Michael Ryan.
Some tickets are still available but people are asked to book ahead online to guarantee their seat.
See here for bookings.
