A research project into rates of suicide and depression among men living in the Border counties will be launched today.
The Border has exacerbated the isolation of men living in rural areas where livelihoods and social networks have been damaged by the decline in farming, said Pat Love, project manager of the North Leitrim Men's Group.
Five years ago the men's group documented the poverty and depression of single men living in north Leitrim in a report showing that many lived without basic facilities such as hot water, washing machines and central heating.
A majority of the men had left school after primary level and many had no social outlets apart from the church, mart and pub.
The group is broadening its research to identify problems facing men aged from 18 upwards in Fermanagh, Cavan and Leitrim. "We do suspect that we will be confronting many of the same issues," said Joel Smith, co-ordinator of the Men on the Border project.
"There is no doubt that rates of suicide among men in counties Cavan, Fermanagh, and Leitrim are very high and anecdotally there is a lot of isolation there."
The Border was as much a psychological barrier as a physical one for some communities. "Prosperous towns were damaged by road closures and people have had to travel distances of 20 miles to visit neighbours living a short distance away," he said.
The group will today officially open a drop-in centre in Manorhamilton, one response to the lack of social outlets for single men in Leitrim. Courses have also been established in literacy, woodwork, and furniture making.
