In recent years the ideal of achieving sustainable rural development has become a key dimension of EU, national, regional and local policy. Whether this ideal is achievable in the near future to any substantial degree is by no means certain. By examining a range of experiences from both the north and south of Ireland, this book asks what the ideal of sustainable development might mean to specific rural groups and how sustainable development goals have been pursued across the policy spectrum. It assesses the extent of commitment to a living countryside in Ireland and compares various opportunities and obstacles to the actual achievement of sustainable rural development. Much of the discussion is devoted to determining the degree of policy convergence between north and south, interrogating the extent of harmonization and integration of policies within the overall economic framework and evaluating the role of policy in molding sustainable development strategies. How different sectors of rural society will be challenged in terms of future survival, a key question in the present juncture, provides an overarching theme throughout.