THERE are women in the tourist industry? The short answer is every where and nowhere. What or where is Ballyhoura? For Ireland, could you read Ballyhoura? Read on.

Whatever the weather, Easter marks the start of yet another summer season. What to do on your holidays, where to go and how much money to spend, occupies our minds. Tittle and tattle about the Irish weather will dominate many conversations between now and next September. Talk about tourism will focus the minds of politicians and pundits. You will be demented with statistics; with news about bed nights; with ways of getting and holding more and more tourists domestic and foreign.

So where do women fit into the agenda? The simple truth is that there would be precious little industry in tourism without women. It is women who do the vast bulk of the hands on work. It is women who think up new ideas; it is women who take risks on transforming B & Bs into suites of bedrooms and bathrooms; it is women who run the B & Bs; who cook the food; who launder the sheets as well as opening up restaurants which they fill with their home made brown bread, apple tarts and salads.

It is the hundreds of Ban an Tis (Mna na Tithe?) who take your kids off your hands during the holidays to Gaeltacht areas and send them back to you refreshed, well fed and with a bit of the Irish language crammed into their resistant heads.

It is mostly women who work in hotels, in every capacity from chamber maids to waiters to managers; it is mostly women who take the jobs in shops that thrive in the summer months; it is women who knit the Aran jumpers, who weave the tweeds, who make the home made cheeses, jams and crafty jewellery. Dammit, it was the Irish Countrywomen's Association which first coined the term "farmhouse tourism" - now given the buzz title of agri-tourism - back in 1964.

A study, Gender In Irish Tourism Employment (P. Breathnach, M. Henry, S. Drea and M. O'Flaherty) shows that in hotels and guest houses women make up two thirds of all employment and estimates that approximately 20,000 (mostly) women are running B & Bs.

But if you look around, you will realise that it is men who hog the media when tourism is being discussed. It is men who fill up development boards. It is the demand for the creation of jobs for men that is regarded as a top priority among the lads.

All of this and much more is contained in a gem of a new report by Dr Pat O'Connor at the University of Limerick. She is a senior lecturer in the Women's Studies Department of Government and Society and has been responsible for producing some of the best and most wide angled research on women's lives in recent years.

Entitled Invisible Players: Tourism And Development In Ballyhoura, this report is a sublime example of O'Connor examining a section of society with surgical precision and finding out where women fit. We are invisible, she reckons; seen but not heard. Women (mostly) are the elves who are stitching up the projected 35,000 full time jobs which are expected in tourism by 1999.

SHE picked Ballyhoura for her study, but it could be replicated all around the country. Ballyhoura includes an area within a 20 mile radius of Kilfinane, Co Limerick, and trips over into the counties of Cork and Tipperary. It has been well established as a rural community centre since the 1980s and is rooted in adult education and community development initiatives. It is described thus: "A quiet, unspoiled countryside with rolling, wooded hills and fertile valleys... with a number of tourist attractions, caves, hill walks, visitor farms, horse riding, golf etc".

What O'Connor found beneath this mouth watering description, was mountain of (mostly invisible) discrimination against women and a vast under representation of them on any of the structures and boards with clout and money. The funding for Ballyhoura's expansion, incidentally, mostly came from the EU's Leader 1 scheme. Presentations and projects are currently being prepared to compete for grants under the next round of Leader.

O'Connor found that women in, tourism in Ballyhoura are predominantly middle aged, with their children off their hands. Nearly all have secondlevel education and one third have a degree or equivalent. Alone or with their husbands, they are involved in a "mosaic of (business) activities" and also take part in non economic community projects. Many also work on family farms or in jobs such as nursing and teaching. The majority want to expand and develop rural tourism.

Of the groups and committees, the most important is Ballyhoura Development, which has clout and control of funds - only 14 per cent of its members are women. Also, women make up between 12 and 20 per cent of the membership on the project approvals committee, the executive committee and the finance committee. They make up two thirds of Ballyhoura Failte, but stop short of the numbers of men with power on its committee.

Ironically (here you see the Ireland allusion), the chief executive and project manager of the development board and manager of Failte is a woman, Carmel Fox, who is described as a roller coaster of energy, commitment and dedication. She is also on the committee of just about everything, mentioned.

Incidentally, each project looking for Leader 2 funds will be "gender audited" so, technically, unless they can prove the visibility of women with power, areas like Ballyhoura will have to reshape themselves considerably.

However, at this stage, you are forced to ask what in the name of all that is holy are the women of, Ballyhoura (Ireland?) like? What makes them tick? Can they not see that power will not fall into their hands - that you can work your ass off but without the title and the company car, your obituary will just reek of sweet sentiment and little else?

Dr O'Connor asks the same questions and comes up with a fund of, interesting facts. She stresses that the sample 30 women interviewed are no blushing violets. They are well educated and articulate, with a range of workable ideas for improving the area - many of them the invaluable "house and garden" variety, carving things, such as childcare in stone, if you holiday there. Women see life differently to men and this is a definite plus in tourism.

O'CONNOR says: "Ballyhoura and its under representation of women in key structures is no different from other areas in Ireland, or from the public arena as a whole.

"For the most part, the women were unclear about.the distinction between the structures that had control of money and those that did not. Only 10 per cent appeared to have noticed that one board had the Leader funds while another did not. The majority appeared to be unaware of the committee structures and women's representation on them. They did not appear to see the world in terms of power structures and sectional interests. They assumed that because they saw women at meetings, because women were involved as providers/secretaries, because they knew one or two women at the top table, that there must be more of their sex involved. They assumed that women's interests would be looked after. Only one in 10 of the women had ever applied for Leader funding".

So there it is - the story of nearly all our lives. For Carmel Fox, you can read Mary Robinson or Mary O'Rourke, Mary Harney, Nora Owen, Liz McManus or Joan Burton.

Pat O'Connor sags that Ballyhoura may be better able than most to cope with the changes needed since the area has consistently shown "an openness, imaginativeness, concern with adult education and community development". But she recommends a few crucial strategies:

. business skills and confidence building courses;

. a willingness to de mystify organisational structures; and

. encourage women's sectional interests.

The report is published by the University of Limerick.