ABSTRACT
The nature of the difficulties these two traditions of local collective action have faced will be considered, as will the performance of the central bodies claiming to represent them, Muintir's national organisation and Comhlachas na gComharchumann (Association of Co-operatives). To explore the difficulties attaching to approaches of the two traditions, our discussion will consider their aims, forms of organisation and performance. Activists linked to both movements have recognised that they must assert themselves at the supralocal level if they are to prosper at local level. How their efforts at the regional and national levels have fared is therefore critical to an understanding of their overall position.
