Local belonging, identities and sense of place in contemporary Ireland

What importance does identity with place have in the ongoing construction and redevelopment of personal and social identities? This paper follows on from recent research which suggests that in an increasingly geographically mobile and globalised societies like Ireland, a sense of place is still a strong marker of identity and central to people’s knowledge and understanding of themselves and others. Combining findings quantitative findings from the International Social Survey Project with qualitative findings from a qualitative study of Contemporary Irish Identities, I show that not only is identity with place of living still very strong, but that it is deep and complex and enmeshed with a sense of belonging to the place where people grew up, the wider county and the nation.