THE future of rural Ireland is the topic for this year’s Merriman Summer School which opens in Lisdoonvarna in Clare next Wednesday, August 15.

Directed by Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Chairman, Bob Collins, this year’s event will have the usual mixture of discussions and debates, poetry and music, and plenty of conviviality.

Thriving at the Crossroads: Rural Ireland in a Globalised World is the theme to be addressed by keynote speakers Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney; Fianna Fail agriculture spokesman, Éamonn O Cuiv; Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness; and Kevin Whelan of the University of Notre Dame.

Among the other speakers will be IFA deputy president Eddie Downey, Carmel Fox from Ballyhoura Development and David Meredith of Teagasc.

The voice of rural Ireland in the media will be discussed by journalist John Waters, RTE’s Mairead Ni Nuadhain and Radio Kerry’s Fiona Stack among others. Sociologists and farmers and geographers and broadcasters and Druid’s Garry Hynes are among the other voices that will bring interesting perspectives on the school’s theme.

There are morning seminars in Irish and English, mid-day poetry readings from Harry Clifton, Moya Cannon and Stiofan O Cadhla, a seaweed safari to Spanish point and in the evenings, music and dancing in Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora.

The School opens in the Pavilion Theatre in Lisdoonvarna on Wednesday and runs until Sunday lunchtime. It is open to everyone, with tickets available for single events, full days, or for the whole school.

The full programme is available on www.merriman.ie.