I believe there is a huge opportunity to reverse the depopulation and decline of rural towns and villages be they in Ireland, Italy or Idaho; but companies embracing remote work and governments’ investing truck loads of money in rural infrastructure are not the panacea they are billed as. …

Tourism is an absolute lifeline for rural communities and as anyone working in the industry knows, where people stay determines where they spend. It is therefore vital that visitors are encouraged to stay in smaller towns and villages if we want them to survive. But how is that effort financed? …

How rural communities can shape their own future I’ve always believed Reeks District as a region has the potential to be up there with the likes of the Peak District and Lake District in the UK — a mecca for outdoor adventure enthusiasts with vibrant towns and villages offering an…

The Irish Government has recently announced a Tourism Recovery Task Force which is a welcome initiative recognising the particular importance of the industry to the economic and social fabric of the country. Like many industries, tourism in Ireland tends to follow the 80/20 rule. 20% of the operators account for…

I believe there is an opportunity to help fuel Ireland’s post-COVID recovery through a simple collaborative campaign that inspires people to relocate to the west coast of Ireland. Here’s how it fits into the current Zeitgeist, why it would deliver a broad range of socio economic benefits including to cities…

Commercial real-estate is going through turmoil and while there certainly is some continued logic to co-working spaces in a post-COVID world, the reality is that yield per square meter is going to decline. Let’s be honest, most urban co-working spaces are just a real-estate play. Some try to promote themselves…

Over the past few years I helped put Reeks District, the new destination brand for Mid Kerry, on the map. A lot has been achieved and now that it’s time to let it ‘breathe’, it is an opportune moment to take stock and jot down the key ingredients I believe…