Must be interesting to watch, I must say I'm not really aware of this because there's another problem which leads to the desertification of villages it's the second homes. But well, there also are the problem of the inflation of the price of houses in some rural regions which doesn't help neither. Though, the village in which this photo have been taken isn't in loss of inhabitants (or at least not during summer) even if there recently were two murders which have been comitted there and diffused in the whole country the last year, the house behind is a beautiful villa abandonned since decads in the middle of the city center.

But I have to say I really would like to visit at least once a ghost town, it's a paradise for the urbex photographers, but the only ghost town I'm aware of in France are not only empty, there also are no more buildings, they have been destroyed during the First World War but after, I don't know the whole country neither. Though, there are some abandonned airfields around Paris which must be worthy to visit.

It personally wouldn't bother me to explore such places on my own though, abandonned places around my place are either under surveillance in cities or either have some really REALLY frightening history, one of those place is at less than 5km from my home, it's originally the main quarry of the region but during WWI, it was used as an underground ammunation factory, though, on 8th December 1917, a big fire happened and most of the women who were working there were killed, after, from what I know, around 15 years ago, a body was found in the same quarry, it has been cut in multiple parts and let in bin bags and 5 years ago another have been found, a bullet in the head and now, some kind of society bought back a part of the quarry (which is the last part to be used as such) and closed and put high security around the place and did huge wroks there and nor the local town council or the regional council are aware and received any authorisation or projects from the said company, none are aware of what they plan... And when I visited the place few years ago, I remember there was a plenty of burned and crushed old cars riddled of bullet impacts. It was (and maybe still) one of the main place for drugs and weapons traffic in the corner, though, there also are some, at least, weapons trafic at a hundred of meters behind my home.

And I didn't knew about this fact, it's quite interesting, I suppose the immigration wave to the US in the XIXth / early XXth centuries didn't helped to increase the population. And well, from what I heard of Ireland (I personally never put my feet on your island but I don't say I wouldn't if I've got the occasion to) it would be very rural area and from what I also heard from people who drove there, near Shannon, roads would be a bit too narrow. XD
But well, personally, I would prefer an area with 5% of cities and 95% of fields (I exagerate the numbers, I suppose Ireland is way more populated) to a country like Belgium which is like 95% cities and 5% of potatoes fields (Well, sorry, I know I shouldn't do this kind of jokes as none but few people can understand them but it comes from a real situation with a Belgian friend who, during a period, was eating nearly every day at each meal potatoes and once came and yelled us those statistics).

The same's happening throughout Japan, as well. All the young people (16-40ish) in small towns head for Tokyo and Osaka, as that's where all the 'cool' is, leaving only elderly residents to look after what they leave behind. It really is quite a sad situation.

Thanks for sharing this picture, かどまつ! ^__^

I think you wrote the right words...

V.