Macra chief seeks to fight isolation

LONELINESS and depression are contributing to the country’s high number of suicides, Macra na Feirme’s new president Colm Markey warned over the weekend.

During his inaugural address in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, he urged young people to involve themselves more in their communities.

Mr Markey, a 32-year-old dairy, beef and tillage farmer from Duddestown, Togher, County Louth, said that individuals and the localities in which they live could benefit greatly from an increased participation in community life.