Posted: February 27 2008

With over 1,000 rural pubs closing around the country over the past three years, the demise of the traditional rural public house, like the church, a focal point in rural communities for years, has left many people feeling isolated, lonely and vulnerable to depression.

So believes Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Mosajee Bhamjee who stated recently, “ I would say it is contributing to some extent to suicide among the elderly. 

“For many older people the pub was a social centre. It created a sense of social togetherness.

“That is all dying out now and people find themselves at home alone, in some cases drinking alone, which can lead to an even greater sense of loneliness and depression,” he added.

He was responding to Tom McGrath, Secretary of the Ennis Mental Health Association, who stated recently that pub closures were one of the biggest contributing factors to rural suicides.

Another expert, Brian Howard, Chief Executive of Mental Health Ireland, agreed, stating that older, single men were particularly vulnerable.

“Obviously by the closing of that social outlet, it could give rise to pressures which affect people’s wellbeing in a negative way, “ he said, “This negativity could have an influence on suicidal behaviour.”

Dr Paula Gilvarry, a specialist in Public Health, added that the demise of the rural pub was “one more element leading to a decrease in social involvement.

“It’s not just the pub closures” she pointed out, “it’s the overall lack of community support for people in rural communities. In the USA, in areas where people were actively involved in the community, a study found they had a greater life expectancy.”

Dr Joe Barry, an advisor to the National Drugs Strategy Team and Senior Lecturer in Public Health at Trinity College in Dublin, said that he wouldn’t dispute the link between rural pub closures and higher levels of depression and suicide.

“It could happen, of course,” he stated, adding, “It is not helped by the wider availability of cheap alcohol in our supermarkets and off-licences. People are buying more and drinking more and home consumption of alcohol has gone up.”

Suicide rates here have grown from nine per 100,000 between 1980 and 1984 to 15 per 100,000 between 2000 and 2004.