Pub Closures Linked To Suicides

Several leading health experts are pointing to a link between a rise in rural suicides and the closure of small local pubs.

There is growing speculation that rising suicide rates are directly related to the demise of the pubs.

In the last four years, over 1,500 pubs throughout Ireland have closed, leaving rural communities without a focal point in which to meet and socialise.

A consultant psychiatrist, Dr Mosajee Bhamjee said: “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.”

Figures from the Vintners Federation of Ireland show in 2003 there were 6,031 rural pubs around the country. This dropped to 5,434 in 2006, while 437 pubs closed nationally in that year alone.

Public Health Specialist Dr Paula Gilvarry said the demise of the rural pub was “one more element leading to a decrease in social involvement”.

She added: “It’s not just the pub closures, 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.”

Suicide rates in Ireland have risen from nine per 100,000 people in the five-year period 1980-1984, to 15 per 100,000 in the five years 2000-2004.

Many of these cases have been attributed to people living in rural areas, the vast majority of which are elderly men.

Meanwhile, many Irish people are leaving the pubs that remain in operation and are choosing instead to drink in their own homes - compounding the problem by hastening the closure of almost 1,000 pubs in the last three years.

Recently released figures have revealed the number of off-licences in Ireland has tripled in the last seven years to 2,000 stores.

The huge increase is being connected to the Irish Government’s decision in 2000 to begin liberalising the off-licence drinks' trade, and further compounded by the smoking ban.

Suicide Prevention Helpline: 1800 742 745 Farm and Rural Stress Helpline: 1800 742 645 6pm-10pm daily.

(DW)

See: Irish Desert Pubs To Drink At Home

(DW)