I've been working on a personal project that's somewhat relevant to this. I made this map that shows where rent for a 1 bedroom apartment is $700 or less across the US, by county, with Fair Market Rent rates calculated by HUD at the 40-50th percentile. As you might expect, not a lot of the desirable places are options. It'd be better to do it by city or by neighborhood with actual market listings, of course.
Here is what $800 (€560 euro) will get you in rural ireland close to where I live http://www.daft.ie/lettings/stoneybatter-lane-inistioge-kilkenny/1385311/ Pretty basic house but the area itself is very pretty: https://www.google.com/search?q=inistioge&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hPpvU9yJKvjMsQS294GwCw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1366&bih=643 All depends on what you are looking for i guess.
If rural Ireland is anything like the rural US then you understand that most people simply can't live there. Many families only survive on seasonal labor, hunting, and gardening. What jobs are available will likely be distributed via nepotism, which is hard if you're new to the area, and near impossible if you're a minority of some sort.
Well rural U.S. is also remote, rural Ireland due to the size of the country cannot really be considered remote. At least nowhere near the same scale. I don't think you are ever more than 3-4 hours drive from the capital city (Dublin) no matter where on the island you live... Unemployment is pretty high at the moment but even so there is not a lot of subsistence hunting or farming. Many smaller towns with easy commute have retail, tourism, services related work. There is also a pretty healthy IT sector here so if you have qualifications you will get a job (maybe not as well paid as in other countries though). Many people (myself included) would live in a relatively rural area and commute to a larger town for work.
As far as I know, landlords have to give you a notice regarding lead before you move in. I got two pages from my realtor explaining all the hazards of lead and then confirming that the apartment was de-leaded. Can't say I'm happy that it's something that needs to be considered... but at least they let me know.