Post office closures: Towns and villages are no different to other forms of conservation

In every part of the world there are remains of abandoned towns – indeed, cities – whose purpose, utility, evaporated. Dotted around Ireland are the remains of tiny villages, groups of houses, which were similarly abandoned. This is to say, the decline and abandonment of human habitation is a long established phenomenon. It can certainly prompt sadness and wonder about the lives of those that lived there and of those who experienced the end and left.

These are the thoughts that can and should come to mind when considering rural decline in Ireland and particularly the closure of post offices. It can be seen as a familiar, age-old process determined by markets, technology and changes in human expectations. That is precisely the view of those advocating closures: the time has come, the criterion is commercial viability, this is natural, the way of the world.

But, this is nothing remotely like the approach taken in other situations. For the most part, the state intervenes. For good or ill, there is planning. Moreover, unlike ancient times people today don’t wander off into virgin territory and make new settlements. What we are faced with today is analogous to the choices over landscapes and the environment.

There is no wilderness in which to start again and when it comes to landscape, we are forced to choose which man-made environment and historical period is to be protected. We then go about doing so in the knowledge that it will require effort, maintenance and money. Similarly with villages, towns and societies, there can be no question of hiding behind nature, commercial viability or the market generally. Decisions have to be made about what is to be protected, preserved and that will mean – again – effort, maintenance and money.

It has become routine to select towns and regions for economic development but even if all are successful, it is hardly enough. Though liberal economics is the accepted view in Ireland and the economic argument for the closure of post offices is generally supported, it is doubtful that there is public support for closing down villages.

Closing down a village is an emotive concept which is seldom if ever faced. As shops, post offices, pubs, filling stations go, it is generally thought that something will survive; there will still be people there, perhaps in reduced numbers but there will not be an abandoned town with fallen leaves drifting and a door banging plaintively somewhere along a once happy street. This is true: Ireland is not faced with the prospect of classic ghost towns but what remains may be worse: pretend towns.

A pretend town or village appears nice to a tourist driving through but should they stop, the reality is pretty brutal. Some people clearly still live here but there is no school, no pub open, there is no post office, there is no shop, there’s nowhere to get a cup of tea. There may be no one about from whom to enquire. The people who sleep here work elsewhere, shop elsewhere, socialise elsewhere. Ah, jaysus, that newly decorated shop front across the street is a mere facade. The place has more in common with a film set than a village.

This kind of conservation has an analogue in the countryside when some will be happy with sterile green, without people, livestock, wildlife or anything that might offer more than a view.

The truth is that it is not conservation, not really. Meaningful conservation arises from a decision to keep something old and valued alive and in working order long after its commercial utility has gone. This approach is true whether it is a village, an urban area, a landscape, a locomotive, traditional breeds of farm animals, horses, poultry, game or working dogs.*

In the case of conserving a village, an uneconomic post office, pub or shop may have to be subsidised. It is not unreasonable to hope that at some stage a commercial function may reappear. For now, however, it is a question of conservation, of paying the price to keep alive something that is valued but is no longer commercially viable.

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* These may be of interest: https://colummccaffery.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/on-wilderness-landscape-conservation-and-shooting/

https://colummccaffery.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/retriever-breeds-use-them-or-conserve-and-use-them/

On wilderness, landscape, conservation and shooting

As an interest in wildlife conservation developed, perhaps my most important realisation was that wilderness – understood as a primordial habitat – is now vanishingly rare. What we have is man-made landscape, the product of centuries of work and exploitation. Conservation is now a question of deciding which of our created landscapes we want to maintain, what we want to re-create and what new grounds we might build. These decisions are tightly fastened to deciding the flora and fauna that we want. While there are exceptions, in most cases ignoring the land and “letting nature take its course” – a superficially attractive notion – will create wastelands. Conservation has become a matter of husbandry; it needs to be seen as an industry which is surprisingly labour intensive and expensive. It will happen by way of direct state action, state subsidy, regulation and successful, sustainable agribusiness, tourism and catering.

A component of this industry is shooting and the production/rearing of game birds. Yes, a landowner /farmer will profit from it. Yes, birds will be reared and killed for the table – not unlike any meat industry. However, what separates it from the meat industry is that it is utterly uneconomic without the relatively rich people who pay to shoot. It is their money that bridges the enormous gap between the cost of a mass produced chicken and a partially wild pheasant. That is to say, because those who shoot are prepared to pay a great deal, this form of farming is viable.*

Viability is not sufficient justification for any enterprise and a major part of the argument for supporting the shooting industry is that it is environmentally desirable. The landscape that needs to be created and maintained for shooting not only appears as pleasant and traditional but supports the kind of living diversity that has fallen victim to more recent farming methods.

Moreover, the people involved – in particular the gamekeepers but also the landowners, guns, beaters, dog handlers and others – are interested in and committed to conservation; the shooting landscape with its mix of vegetation – open field, woodland, wetland, cover – and wildlife is the environment they want not only for themselves and for anyone who will respect it but also for their children.**

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* Apart from the driven shoot discussed here, there are gun clubs doing more or less the same thing but they are not operating as a business and their labour input is voluntary.

** If you have a grá for poetry along with gundogs and shooting, this collection by my lifelong friend, Maurice Spillane, may interest you:  http://sciroccopublishing.com/our-first-poet-maurice-spillane/