ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the traditionally sectoral ways of evaluating rural development practices, so that important connections between community development and other sectors of rural development can be realised. Development has captured the centre stage of history. This ambiguous process is often depicted as the crucible though which all societies must pass and if successful, emerge purified: modern, affluent, and efficient. Deconstructing the representations of Ireland, J. Crush's suggestion that 'the primary element in development narrative is a setting of the geographical stage' is reflected in R. Munck and M. Fagan's observations concerning Ireland's developmental position, and their sense that Ireland is ill-defined by its peripherality. During the 1960s the Irish government's policy for rural development was designed predominantly to ensure more intensive use of land, retention of people in agriculture, the creation of viable farming units and the provision of adequate employment opportunities for those who leave agriculture.
