Unfortunately boarded up businesses and shop fronts are a common feature of many of our towns and villages.
CSO figures also show that we're travelling longer by car to get to work - with the average commute taking 28 minutes.
Noel Hartnett, who is living in Cootehill, believes that rural Ireland is dead and gone - he joined us on the show Tuesday (23/01)
WEDNESDAY (24/01)
New research by the economic think tank the ESRI is projecting that more and more of us will be travelling to Dublin for employment if the Government does not redirect growth around the country.
Dublin and the mideast are projected to have above average growth in the number of jobs available while jobs growth is projected to be slowest in the border, southeast and midwest regions.
The village of Rockcorry is situated on the R188 which links Cootehill to Monaghan town – there are about 180 houses, one shop, one pub and of course a Gaelic football team.
Patricia joined us on the show Wednesday to tell us about the village she grew up in and how it had changed so much over the years
