“Why shouldn’t we have what everyone else has?” Learning from Irish community cooperatives

Ireland has 32 community cooperatives that bring together local resources and initiatives to keep rural areas attractive places to live. The group from KBT visited the village of An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe) in Connemara, a short drive from Galway city, where a former industrial area now houses everything from office rentals to a small diving centre.

The cooperative is led by Seán Ó Domhnaill, whose motto is simple: why shouldn’t rural communities have what everyone else has? The cooperative works on local electricity supply, a playground, a fire station and a fitness centre, and has built a small solar park that produces more electricity than it needs itself.

The Irish language is a key foundation for many of the services. Twenty years ago it was close to disappearing; today it has been revived and is considered cool among many young people. Being able to receive services in your own mother tongue is part of what makes the community work.

The visit was connected to the Interreg NPA project MERSE on social entrepreneurship in rural areas, where Údarás na Gaeltachta is one of the partners.