A survey in north Leitrim is exploring concerns that single men aged between 35 and 65 have become marginalised and susceptible to depression and suicide.
Leitrim has the highest rate of suicide among both men and women in the State. As in other areas, the male rate is significantly higher. Research has shown that suicide is becoming a particular problem in isolated rural areas.
"These men are the voiceless people. Nobody speaks for them and they are generally never seen or heard of until they end up in mental hospitals or on suicide lists," said Mr Pat Love, supervisor of the North Leitrim Men's Group, based in Manorhamilton.
He said many statutory bodies are reluctant to accept that men's problems need to be addressed, adding they would rather try to deal with them under other guises. After supervising training and employment schemes for a number of years, he has found that women are more likely to seek help and join education programmes.
Many of the men who are most isolated were never able to avail of schemes because they lacked basic skills and did not have any means of transport.
Mr Love believes changes in society and in rural life have left many men without a sense of identity and with low self-esteem.
Men's "bread-winning" role has been eroded, traditional skills are not valued any longer and many opportunities for social contact at fairs and festivals have disappeared.
Most have only basic education and there is always a danger that depression will lead them to drink.
Leitrim has one of the highest rates of admissions to psychiatric hospitals in the State.
Depopulation in rural areas has also added to a sense of isolation.
More women than men tend to leave these areas for work, creating a a high proportion of single men over 40.
An examination of the census figures in the Manorhamilton rural district found that 37 per cent of men aged between 40 and 60 were single, compared with only 12 per cent of women in this age group.
The North Leitrim Men's Group was formed in 1996 by Mr Love and a number of others who were involved in community development projects and had seen that the needs of single, isolated men were not being met.
Even those who did take part in schemes were sent back to a life of isolation and loneliness once the programme ended, he said.
Mr Love decided to set up a three-year community employment scheme specifically targeted at these men.
Special agreements had to be worked out with Government departments and the National Rehabilitation Board because the men did not all meet the normal qualifying criteria.
Funding came from the EU peace and reconciliation fund and from FAS.
Mr Love discovered a reluctance among many men to get involved initially, but the 15 men in the scheme have now become its best advertisement. It is not realistic, however, to expect the men, with an average age of 50, to progress automatically into jobs.
"It is about giving people a better quality of life, giving them a reason to get up in the morning, helping them to read and write and to be able to cook a meal for themselves," Mr Love said.
As well as doing environmental projects around the area, the programme includes literacy, cookery, hygiene, health awareness and personal development.
They have also started an organic vegetable project, which Mr Love hopes will allow the men to continue working together as a team after the scheme ends.
Mr Love said the work is slow, but the results have been obvious.
After holding health checks, a number of the men were persuaded to see a doctor, something they would never normally do.
Cookery classes have also been a big success.
"It's as simple as saying, `if you are going to have an egg, you don't always have to fry it. There are other things you can do with it'," Mr Love said. Funding from the EU peace and reconciliation fund has been vital, as it has enabled the group to rent a house as a base for the scheme, and also to employ a full-time worker who will persuade men to participate in the survey.
A total of 488 single men aged between 35 and 65 in the north Leitrim area have been identified, and a team of trained researchers will visit their homes during the survey.
Confidentiality is guaranteed, and a wide range of questions cover topics such as employment, health, social interaction, transport, finance and education.
Mr Love is determined to prevent his work becoming a "dust-collecting" report.
He hopes to show statutory bodies where they are failing these men and what needs to be done to give them a decent quality of life.
"The irony is that it is usually men who are at the top of these organisations, who are refusing to help other men who have not got on as well," he said.