Social isolation - We can all help fight loneliness

THE majority of us are social beings. Most of us would not have it any other way; we could not survive much, less be happy, if it were otherwise.

We sometimes need a bit of craic to blow away the cobwebs, a few hours’ enlivening company to sustain and cheer us. We often crave social activities to stimulate and satisfy one of the great human instincts — to interact with something bigger than ourselves, to wrap ourselves in the comfort of community.

We all, most of us anyway, feel better as part of society rather than being isolated and unconsidered by our relatives, neighbours or acquaintances. We all prefer to be remembered rather than forgotten.

That may be no more than a long-winded way of saying that we all need a bit of company every now and then and life can become very empty and tedious without the support and camaraderie of our peers.

Some of us are lucky enough to have more than enough opportunities to satisfy our needs but there are a growing number of people who are left more alone than they might wish. The campaign launched yesterday by President Mary McAleese, in conjunction with the GAA and the IFA, identifies one of the categories most susceptible to the consequences of loneliness.

The President’s campaign will focus on elderly, single men living in the countryside. President McAleese noticed at events around the country that single, older men were more conspicuous by their absence than by their presence. Her impression was confirmed by an RTÉ radio documentary and, to her great credit, she decided that something could be done. Yesterday’s campaign launch is the result of that decision.

Towns and cities can be terribly lonely places, especially for an immigrant trying to build a new life, but they rarely impose the kind of solitude endured by isolated rural dwellers so a special effort is justified.

There have been huge changes in rural Ireland. Some areas are more populated but emptier and colder than ever before because of commuting and work commitments. Others are marginalised because of post office and mart closures. Still more have fallen silent because of the antisocial consequences of new attitudes towards even very moderate drinking and driving. Axing schools and bus routes has had an impact too. The statistical imperatives for this campaign are powerful.

Older men over 65 years of age are the second most at-risk group to suicide. Right now about 11% of the population are over 65. In a very short time, 25% of us will be over 65, so the problems facing this group will grow rather than diminish.

The GAA and the IFA are to be congratulated too for their part in this campaign. Few other, if any, organisations are as deeply rooted and their commitments to community and social wellbeing will no doubt be seen to great affect in this venture.

Laudable as this campaign is, it is a sad indication of what we have become. We have become a colder, less caring society than we were and if this campaign helps change that even in a small way we will all benefit, not just old men living alone, isolated and half forgotten in some decaying backwater.

We should remember too that there is much we can do as individuals to ease the loneliness endured by some of those living just around the corner.