The threat of rural post office closures in the early 1990s caused a groundswell of opposition from communities who claimed the closures would devastate their towns and villages. Now small communities are up in arms again, this time over the withdrawal of banking facilities, which is happening quietly and continuously.
Those affected complain that the withdrawal of banking services will sound the death knell for their communities. As a Mayo county councillor, Mr Jimmy Moloney, put it, nobody wants to set up business in a town that doesn't have a bank.
He is very angry at the decision by Bank of Ireland to close its sub-office in his home town of Foxford on Friday, despite vociferous protests.
Ms Marian Harkin, chairwoman of the Council for the West, said the fabric of rural Ireland and the opportunities available to people were slowly disintegrating.
"The White Paper on Rural Development promised people a choice to live, move to and work in rural areas. Unless these promises are underpinned by maintenance of a basic level of services and employment opportunities then these promises are hollow," she said.
A rural sociologist, Father Harry Bohan, feels banks have a social obligation to the people in small communities who have made them what they are.
"At a time when urban growth is almost uncontrollable and when more and more people want to live in small communities, this is the very time that big organisations like the banks should be supporting that move and they should do so by retaining the services that people need rather than taking them away," he said.
The situation in Foxford has been replicated in several other areas in the past 12 months.
In 1999 Allied Irish Banks closed 10 branches in the Republic, and a further sub-office closed at Sneem, Co Kerry, last month.
Bank of Ireland has also closed at least two sub-offices, one in Foxford, the other in Louisburgh, Co Mayo.
National Irish Bank announced plans in February to close three of its agencies in Blacklion, Co Cavan; Castlefin, Co Donegal; and Drumkeerin, Co Leitrim. They were scheduled to close at the end of this month but following an armed hold-up of staff at the Castlefin agency last Monday, the bank decided to close them immediately "for security reasons".
In a further blow to the northwest it said the raid had also forced it to close within days two further sub-offices in Co Donegal at Clonmany and Carrigart.
Dr Patrick Malone, secretary of the Sneem Development Co-operative Society, said the loss of the town's AIB sub-office on February 17th was a very serious blow to the town.
Sneem is a prime tourist area, located on the Ring of Kerry with a thriving business community, including six restaurants, at least 20 guesthouses and 12 shops, which require access to banking facilities. Money changed outside Sneem is money lost to the town, Dr Malone said.
He also fears the move will result in elderly people hoarding money in their homes, making them even more vulnerable. "The consequences really don't bear thinking about," he said.
"Over the years, much lip service has been paid to regional development and inclusivity. The reality on the ground is that the noose is being progressively tightened around the necks of small communities, regardless of their contribution to the Celtic Tiger.
"Even AIB is not guiltless in this respect for, as sponsor of the Better Ireland Awards, it should be acutely aware of the needs of small communities and at the very least it should do nothing to compromise the expansion of business opportunities in those communities," he added.
All the banks accept that the closure of branches or sub-offices is an emotive issue and insist their decisions to withdraw services are not taken lightly.
A spokesman for AIB said the bank opened and closed branches every year. Mr Turlough Crowe confirmed the bank withdrew services from Mountrath, Co Laois; Enniscrone, Co Sligo; Balla, Co Mayo; Carlingford, Co Louth; Mountbellew, Co Galway; Blacklion, Co Cavan; Bindon Street, Ennis; O'Connell Street, Limerick (there are two other branches on the street); and from Lansdowne Road and Ballyfermot in Dublin over the past 12 months.
These were primarily "commercial" decisions, he said, pointing out that new branches had opened in growth areas.
Bank of Ireland said a negligible amount of business was carried on in its Foxford outlet and it could not justify keeping it open.
"These are very carefully taken decisions. There is no widescale plan to reduce the number of branches we have, but we would look at the ones which have a low level of business like Foxford," a spokesman said.
Even before the raid on a suboffice of National Irish Bank in Castlefin, last week the bank had signalled its intention to close three of its sub-offices at the end of this month.
"Increasingly we are introducing new technology into our banks and we want people to start using it. Customers can phone us for a loan or a mortgage and using our laser cards they can pay for items at most shops and receive cash back in the process," Ms Pamela Yeh, the bank's spokeswoman said.
People affected by the withdrawal of services are, however, not convinced that new technology is an acceptable substitute for good old-fashioned banking.