Today’s Ireland is wrestling with an unexpected scarcity: a scarcity of belonging. As digital life expands, the infrastructures that once offered connection – shared spaces, local rituals, everyday community interactions – have thinned out. We see the consequences everywhere, including rising levels of loneliness and anxiety experienced by young people, reflected in recent Eurobarometer research.
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Natalia Krasnenkova was among those who were front and centre during the recent official visit by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Ireland. She and Olya Marintseva, as active members of the Ukrainian community in Kerry and as community workers there, were invited to meet the president. Here she provides a first-hand account of that meeting:
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Throughout 2025, a project called Úlla, Dúlra agus Pobal – meaning ‘Apples, Nature and Community’ unfolded in Cloughjordan ecovillage in Co. Tipperary. The project was supported by the Irish Environmental Network and five events were held, online* and in person, to look at how heritage apples connect with history, with local communities, with local food businesses, and with the arts. The project finale was an festival called Féile na nÚll which took place on September 20th in Cloughjordan ecovillage. Here, Oliver Moore, one of the organisers, explains about projects happening involving community apple orchards elsewhere – in Monaghan town, County Clare, Limerick city and Ballymun.
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The PEACE-funded Shankill Shared Women’s Centre in Belfast has been officially recognised as one of the top projects in Europe for promoting inclusion and delivering life-changing impacts within the local community it serves.
“To be recognised and win out of 266 applicants from across Europe is just incredible,” said a project representative in a celebratory message to supporters.
While there were some positive things in this month’s budget, Irish Rural Link says it is concerned about the level of funding allocated to Rural Development (€192 million) and Community Development (€260 million).
“Although these represent increases on last year’s budget, they may not go far enough,” it said in a statement.
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