Rural Ireland has featured prominently in recent public and political discussions. However, the prevailing narratives have not addressed fundamental questions concerning future policy directions. This paper explores some of the key features of the current policy framework, Our Rural Future 2021-2025 and the findings from a recently published Rural Policy Review of Ireland 2026 by the OECD. Our Rural Future proclaims that it “represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland…..by adopting a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing and maximising opportunities for rural areas (p.8)”. It specifically acknowledges the need for people-centred and place-sensitive strategies that take account of the diversity of rural contexts. It also commits to invest in and empower rural communities to design and deliver responses that meet their local needs. The OECD Review commends the approach elaborated in Our Rural Future (ORF). The policies and strategies in ORF are considered to be aligned with core elements of the OECD rural development framework. It asserts that Ireland is among the first Member States to use the OECD Principles of Rural Policy to guide national rural strategy. It also notes the comparatively more favourable demographic structure in rural Ireland, the strength of local national and local labour markets, the relative abundance of fiscal resources and previous success in implementing bottom-up approaches to rural development supported via local development companies. The Review concludes that the evolution of rural development policy in Ireland has been gradual, adaptive and context-sensitive.