The present volume has arisen from a research project entitled : "Rural Development Strategies in the West of Ireland", which is being carried out by members of the Department of Geography at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. This research project, which began in 1981 and is scheduled for completion in September 1984, is being funded by the National Board for Science and Technology, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. The nature of the research being carried out has been strongly influenced by the "top-down" and "bottom-up" dichotomy as regards approaches to ' deve-:Copment~which has become increasingly popular in regional/rural development circles in recent: years. At its simplest, this dichotomy distinguishes between, on the one hand, centralised, statesponsored development programmes which tend to utilise standard techniques based on generalised models of how development occurs, or should occur ; and, on the other hand, local, and frequently community-based, development initiatives which seek to :!;"_elate the development effort to_.local needs and resources.