There was great excitement in the community hall in Granard a few weeks ago when the Women in Touch group celebrated its 10th birthday.

Over 100 women turned up, most of whom are active members of the group who live in Granard and the rural hinterland around the town.

The journey leading to the establishment of Women in Touch all started in the Lus na Gréine family resource centre 11 years ago when a women’s development group was established with 28 members and they completed a training course together.

This group went on to form the core of Women in Touch.

The group meets every Tuesday morning when there are often talks from guest speakers, but that’s only the start of it.

Members are involved in the gardening club, a knitting group, arts and crafts classes, days out, they manage a pre-loved clothes shop and help out with the children’s groups in the family resource centre.

Eileen Finan has been co-ordinator for the group since its inception.

“It’s wonderful to be celebrating our 10th birthday especially as we fund and facilitate ourselves. This is a celebration of the women of Granard – 70 years of the ICA and 10 years of Women in Touch supporting women in so many ways.”

Research on rural women’s groups – All of us Together – which was published last year and co-authored by Dr Bernadine Brady and Eileen Finan confirms the value of social supports for women experiencing isolation and loneliness in rural Ireland.

Women who for different reasons need targeted support to get back to work or education, set up a business or get involved in local activities.

The impact of these groups was summed up nicely by Women in Touch chair Patty Fitzgerald.

“The power of women coming together is something to be reckoned with. When women come together with a collective passion, magic happens.”

As a board member, Marian Masterson has been with Women in Touch since the beginning. “There was no family resource centre in the county and with my background in mental health nursing, I had a great interest in what was happening here. We identified a need for programmes to help women working in the home who were coping with social isolation. And it all grew from there”

These days Marian is a member in her own right. So what does Women in Touch mean to her now? “It’s all about friendship. While I’ve lived in Granard for years I wasn’t working locally and when I retired I found I knew very few people. The group has given me confidence. When I was working, my job gave me confidence, it was my identity and all of a sudden it was gone.”

Chair of Women in Touch Patty Fitzgerald has lived in Granard for 49 years. “My husband was a garda and we landed into Granard from Galway. I was 24 and newly married and I had no idea what to expect. To be honest I lived for Jim’s rest days when I headed straight back to Galway.”

Patty discovered Women in Touch seven years ago and says it was a lifeline for her. “We have our meeting every Tuesday from 10am to 12pm. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. We have arts and crafts classes, a gardening club, the knitter natters (a knitting group), lots of guest speakers and days out. It’s a bit like the ICA, except we do it all in daylight.”

Rose Early has been part of Women in Touch for 10 years. She joined on the recommendation of a friend and discovered she knew a few people. “I wasn’t a talker and they assured me that that was no problem. I was a bit shy but I kept coming. It’s given me confidence to do things for myself.”

Maggie Small is another long-term resident of Granard but that didn’t mean she knew lots of people. “I’m here 38 years and in the beginning I stayed home most of the time didn’t mix very well and at first I didn’t like Granard.

“Then Eileen Finan called around telling me about the group, but because I was so shy it took me a year to walk over the threshold. The group has given me roots in Granard. I’m part of the Tidy Towns group and I volunteer with the children’s groups in the family resource centre. I would never have done that without the support of Women in Touch.”

Rosemary Reilly is another local and she was part of the original women’s development group that led to the establishment of Women in Touch. “It fills my day and I’m here three days a week from 10am to 1pm. I know so many people involved and it’s like a second home for me. Every town and village in the country should have a place like this.”

It was the death of her mother that prompted Carmel McAuley to join the group. “I live in Ballinalee, about four miles from Granard. I looked after my mother and when she died I had nothing to do and got very bored. One of my daughters told me about this place. That was three years ago and after the first week or two I felt at home. The group has a policy of welcoming everyone and it works.”

While Rita Kiernan is a native of Granard she and her husband - who only lived a few miles from Granard - met while working in England. “I worked as a home help up to five years ago and retired for health reasons. Our children were reared and I wasn’t going to spend all my days cleaning the kitchen.”

“You have an identity when you are working but it’s gone when you retire. This group filled a huge gap for me. I do the exercise classes on Fridays and volunteer in the pre-loved clothes shop and I love our outings.”

Sadie Sheridan is local to Granard and worked as a dressmaker from home.

“I thought by coming here I’d have a bit of time to myself, but I was never busier. I have the knitting group on Mondays, the art group on Wednesdays.

"I love the arts and craft group and I also volunteer in the shop. I’d urge any woman and you are sure of a great welcome.”

“While life in rural Ireland can be presented as being idyllic and serene, we need to acknowledge that problems do exist so the status quo and consensus around inequalities can be challenged.” So said Catherine Lane, who is the women in rural, local and community development officer with the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

“It is vital that organisations in rural communities reach out to and support rural women. About 37% of the female population live in rural areas.

So investment in demand responsive services and social support is critical to enable the economic, social and cultural participation of women and girls in rural Ireland.”

She said that while women are the driving force in the community and voluntary sectors, this has not led to a greater sharing of influence and power in many decision making spaces in rural communities.

Nor have women received the recognition they deserve.

We would like to see the recognition of older women’s contribution through the retrospective farming/partnership scheme

“Women’s experiences, their role and contribution to families, communities and businesses including on farms often goes unacknowledged and unrecognised in our social protection system and in our rural development strategies.

"We would like to see the recognition of older women’s contribution through the retrospective farming/partnership scheme to facilitate their direct access to a state pension.”

She said the midlands has a higher unemployment rate than most of the country and the unemployment rate for women is even higher.

“Women often are in part-time and insecure employment. Older women living alone and women parenting alone have increased costs such as for transport, fuel and food.

"Added to that, older rural women are even less likely than older urban women to have an occupational pension.”

More women needed in decision making

Catherine said there is a lack of gender balance on rural decision-making structures including farming and sporting organisations. She said there was a notable urban-rural divide in terms of female vote and representation levels. In this summer’s local elections in Longford, 10 women ran but out of 18 elected councillors only one is a woman. The National Women’s Council is carrying out research in this area which will be published shortly.