Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 GOING PLACES Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage Green living at Cloughjordan marks it out as a progressive and socially active place to live, writes Arlene Harris Arlene Harris September 16 2018, 12:01am, The Sunday Times Eileen Brannigan, left, with her partner Joanna Parkes and their son Dualtha at the ecovillage https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 1 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 BARRY CRONIN Share ! " # Save $ The residents of one Tipperary town heaved a collective sigh of relief when An Post released the names of the 159 post o;ces it is to close around Ireland. Cloughjordan, which is nestled in the lush countryside of northwest Tipperary, was not on the list. Bawney Hayes, a local man who has lived in the town all his life with the exception of a few years in Nenagh, says the loss of the post o;ce would have been the final straw. “We have been lost since AIB pulled out, as we now have no bank, and we were very worried about losing the post o;ce too,” he says, adding that many townspeople are anxious about the threat of further closures, including the train station. Donald Austin at Centra BARRY CRONIN https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 2 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 As far as rural Irish towns go, Cloughjordan, with its population of 612 people, is of a modest size — it has two schools, three churches, a community cafe, a supermarket, a post o;ce and a railway station — but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in detail. It is multidenominational, multicultural and environmentally friendly to boot. The home town of Thomas MacDonagh, the poet, playwright and revolutionary leader who was executed for his role in the 1916 Easter Rising, Cloughjordan is a modern settlement in rural Ireland where history and old- fashioned values are merged with forward- thinking, socially active ideals. Hayes says there is a “fierce feeling of pride” among the inhabitants. “We’re very proud of https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 3 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 our local man Thomas MacDonagh, sure, who wouldn’t be? But while he is very much part of our heritage, ours is also a modern town with loads going on,” he adds. Cloughjordan has kept its post office BARRY CRONIN “We have an amateur dramatic society that I have been part of for decades. We also have culture nights, heritage week and five or six halls with various activities such as yoga, dancing and Irish language classes. We’re a very active community.” The father of two, who is married to Josie and used to work in house maintenance, also cites Cloughjordan ecovillage as proof of the town’s progressiveness. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 4 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 Ireland’s first ecovillage celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, having welcomed its first residents in December 2009. In the past nine years, about 160 people have moved into 55 houses on the 12-acre site beside Cloughjordan village — planning permission is in place for 130 homes. The developers have built a huge selection of sustainable houses in a variety of styles, including timber-framed properties with hemp and lime rendering; certified passive houses; an all-cedar home with recycled newspaper as insulation; and a curved cob house. The dwellings are energy e;cient and high- performing “green homes”, which together form Ireland’s largest renewable energy district heating system. Some residents harvest rainwater for drinking and washing, while many also use solar panels. They tend their community farm using sustainable agricultural methods. Many homeowners have designed their own homes or worked with ecological architects. Homes have been built for as little as €120,000. The residents have planted 20,000 trees, among them alder, ash and hazel, and they’ve rescued oak trees from a motorway in Dublin. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 5 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 Writer Eileen Brannigan moved into her timber-frame house five years ago, along with her partner Joanna Parkes and their son Dualtha. She says she can’t imagine living anywhere else. “This is a dynamic community of broadly like- minded people who have a genuine desire to do less damage to the world we live in within the urgent context of climate change,” says Brannigan. “Whatever our superficial di]erences, we believe that changes to the way we live and consume are urgently necessary. We are all determined to show how relatively small but profound personal changes can make a big and quantifiable di]erence.” Solar panels at the ecovillage BARRY CRONIN She says the ecovillage and Cloughjordan are the kinds of places where you can put out a call asking to borrow something, whether it’s a https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 6 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 mobile phone charger or a car, and get a stream of responses. “Rural communities have traditionally had a good reputation for helping each other out and looking out for their more vulnerable members, and the ecovillage, while it doesn’t look traditional, embodies those values. For those of us who have migrated from cities or urban areas, we find this aspect of living here a very pleasant surprise.” Retired councillor Jim Casey agrees. He says, while the town changed a great deal in the 30 years he worked as a public servant, the sense of community has remained the same. The influx of newcomers has enhanced this. “We are a very di]erent community from a lot of others,” says Casey, who is married to May and has three adult sons. “There are so many people of di]erent religions here for a start, from Catholic and Protestant to Methodist and others, and everyone gets on well — in fact there is a community choir and people from all faiths sing together. It sets a great example. “The area is developing all the time — not as fast as some people would want but, for a small rural town, it’s holding its own,” says Casey. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 7 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 However, he worries that the next generation won’t put “their shoulder to the wheel” like the current generation. Many residents are meeting the challenges facing the town head on — not least among them the possibility of the modern world leaving it behind. But it isn’t all a bed of ecofriendly roses in Cloughjordan. “After the Celtic tiger the town definitely got quieter,” says Donald Austin, who runs the local Centra supermarket. “On a business level, things have not improved since the recession; there has been no upturn in rural Ireland as far as I can see, unless you are situated on a busy road. And it can be very quiet during the day, as there are few jobs locally, so many people go away to work.” Search & Ready for unlimited access? Subscribe now for just £1 a week % Today’s sections ' Past six days My articles ( My account ' for 8 weeks.Despite the downturn and Subscribe the current threat to rural communities, the housing Local man Bawney Hayes market in north Tipperary has lived in the town most of his life has recovered well from BARRY CRONIN the crash. Estate agent Eoin Dillon says the area attracts people who want to retire away from the bustle of the city to a place that still has a buzz about it. And while prices vary, the cost of a three-bedroom family home in the area is https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cloughjordan-is-a-small-country-town-but-a-big-ecovillage-f9ktxxhvl?t=ie Page 8 oF 16 Cloughjordan is a small country town — but a big ecovillage | Ireland | The Sunday Times 18/09/2018, 0923 in the region of €140,000. “We are amazed by the number of middle- aged and retired people seeking to move to Cloughjordan,” says the Nenagh agent. “People want to be near the ecovillage but not necessarily to live in it, preferring to enjoy some of its benefits without being fully immersed in it.” Dillon says there is a huge variation in the size, age, condition and location of houses.