John Joe, the friendly grocer tells us that lots of famous people have houses round Louisburgh and Westport as retreats from the hurly-burly of high pressure life. Did we not see Mick Hucknal from Simply Red there in front of us at the check-out? A grand lad (with his spending power, I bet he is a grand lad). And Miles Kinston from the Irish Times? And yer man who owns Ryan Air? And Madonna? And … The list goes on.

We feel rather poor as we load the supplies into the dusty Toyota that sits shyly among the brand new four-by-fours, the shiny Mercs, the sleek BMWs. These belong, not to the rich and famous, but to the shopkeepers.

John Joe waxes lyrical and looks prosperous, but pleads poverty claiming that it is the farmers with their grants and subsidies and tax exemptions who are the nouveau riche. To tell the truth, there’s no sign of poverty, which is good to see in a land so long barren.

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