Talk on rural life in Ireland

A lookback over half a century

Kilbarron Terryglass Historical Society is holding a Zoom talk on Friday, February 11, at 8pm with Mr Jim O’Brien, columnist with the Farming Independent, who will discuss Rural Life in Ireland in the last 50 years.

Jim O’Brien is a writer and freelance journalist, and a columnist with the Farming Independent since 2010. He is author of the book ‘Matters of Great Indifference –Reflections on modern rural living’. Jim offers a unique perspective on rural life in a changing Ireland.

Jim has worked as property correspondent with the Farming Independent and since 2017 has been writing a weekly column for the paper. He is well placed to keep a finger on the pulse of rural Ireland. Jim travels the country, week in and week out, walking land, meeting farmers, chatting to rural auctioneers and tasting the delights to be found in local coffee shops.

‘Matters of Great Indifference’ was published in 2020. The collection covers a wide range of issues from broadband to Brexit, from politics to place-names, from climate change to Covid. With a background in community and rural development, Jim likes to identify trends and patterns he sees emerging. He also reflects on the personal joys, delights and sorrows experienced at the various milestones that mark a life.

Originally from Kildimo in Co Limerick, Jim now lives in Ogonnelloe on the shores of Lough Derg in east Clare.

His talk for the Kilbarron Terryglass History Society is entitled ‘The rural Ireland that made me’. In the course of the piece, he will seek to identify the key developments or occurrences that shaped his life socially and personally.

A link to register for the talk will be issued shortly and if anyone wishes to register, please email kilbarronterryglasshistsociety@gmail.com.