People are always shocked by a suicide in the community, but the suicide that of an older person is particularly difficult to understand. Having survived 60 or 70 years of ups and downs, why should people suddenly decide to take their own lives?
Yet the number of older men committing suicide almost doubled , from an average of 9.4 to one of 17.9 per 100,000, between 1976 and 1993. In 1999, 32 men over 65 years of age committed suicide in 1999, suicide in the Republic, compared with 30 in 1998 and 26 in 1997.
And it's not just an Irish phenomena. Older people account for 13 per cent of the US population, but commit nearly 20 per cent of suicides. In a European study in the 1980s, 11 out of 16 countries reported their highest rates of male suicide in the over-65 age category.
"While suicide numbers amongst the elderly might be lower, rates can be higher when you take into account our very large young population," says Dr John Conolly, secretary of the Irish Association of Suicidology.
Those most at risk are men over 65, living alone with mental or psychiatric problems or physical illness. "Elderly women are t so prone to taking their own lives. Women have a tendency to cope with loss much better than men."
Chronic pain is a factor, but t as great a factor one as people imagine . Loneliness, isolation and depression are much more relevant reasons, says Dr Conolly says. "As people get older, depression becomes increasingly common , but it often goes undiagnosed and untreated. A lot of people just put it down to old age."
This attitude may encourage a sense of desperation, particularly when it is combined with increasing frailty. "But remember that depression is just as treatable in the elderly as in the young."
The pain of losing a partner could be an aggravating factor, says Mr John Maguire of Active Age. He says people often do t realise the great sense of loss when someone loses a spouse after 50 years of marriage.
"Just because you are old doesn't make it any easier. In fact, it can be harder," he says.
Suicide is often referred to in an indirect way by callers to the Senior Help Line. This is a confidential telephone help line helpline run by 160 volunteers around the country.
"Some callers are very, very depressed and feel they have thing to live for," says Ms Mary Nally, help line co-ordinator the helpline co-ordinator . Mr Colm O'Conor , Senior senior Help Line administrator its the helpline's administrator , says people often wonder why elderly people commit suicide when they don't have that long to live.
"But older people don't see it that way. They get caught up in their loneliness and isolation. Older people can also be very radical in some ways. They feel they don't have to conform any more to a stereotypical image of them. They still have needs and desires. They still want companionship and romance."
Ms Nally says callers often tell her that they have telephones but they have one body to call. "That's very sad. Loneliness is the biggest problem, and it's as prevalent in Dublin 4 as in a rural area."
Mr O'Conor agrees. Because demands have increased in the workplace, sons and daughters don't have the same free time to spend with their elderly parents. "If you have someone working six - and - a - half days a week and living in a Dublin suburb, how often is he going to see his elderly mother in Roscommon?" he asks.
He sees a clear link between restrictive planning permission regulations and the loneliness of older people.
"Young people are often forced to move away from their home place, because they can t build in the area. " I think that's a very significant factor, and it's happening everywhere." What should be done to reduce the incidence of elderly suicide? Dr Conolly says everyone working with older people should ensure that they have access to adequate social and medical supports.
Mr Maguire says it is everyone's duty to make contact with older people, while respecting their dignity. "Society is moving so fast that older people are being pushed out of the way," he says.
"It will be a growing problem as the population ages. We need to promote the needs of older people and heighten the awareness of this among clerics, GPs, district nurses and the public."
The Senior Help Line would like to see the provision of more sheltered housing in towns and villages for older people, and it also calls for improvements in public transport, particularly in rural areas.
The Senior Help Line (1850-440444) is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week