After an extremely difficult year in farming, Galway farmer, Shay Concannon, is urging farmers experiencing mental health issues to open up and talk about the challenges they are facing.
“There are some farmers out there going through difficulties and I know they are not talking,” said Shay who is married to Mona O’Donoghue Concannon, Galway ICSA chair, ICSA Life Focus chair and chair of the Women in Agriculture Stakeholders’ Group.
“The weather has definitely had a big impact on a lot of farmers, but we were able to manage it here,” said the dairy and suckler farmer who leases 100ac in Dunmore.
“A lot of farmers ran out of feed and there were financial problems. A lot couldn’t get fodder in and couldn’t pay for it. We are not far here from the terrible flooding in Roscommon.
“If you are having mental health difficulties, you need to talk to someone. There is no point in hiding the situation,” Shay stressed.
With the opportunities for farmers to meet having reduced in recent years, many farmers are hiding away, afraid that people will think they are weak, according to Shay.
“There are supports available and there are a lot of people you can speak to but if you don’t speak out, you’re going to have bigger problems and your family will be affected as well,” he added.
Mental health
Shay has personal experience of the difficulties that can arise, going back to 2012. “I didn’t realise I had a problem but Mona realised that something was very wrong and was getting worse.
“My GP diagnosed me with depression. I had to move from the farm. I had no choice as I wasn’t functioning and as time went on, I knew something was definitely wrong with me,” Shay said.
“I got treatment and it took years, but now I’m out the other side. I was in a very dark place. I attempted suicide in 2013.
“I made a phone call to my sister to tell her that I had enough and couldn’t take any more. My sister talked me around and rang my wife and I got help,” he said.
Shay acknowledged that it can be very difficult for people to talk about how they are feeling.
“It took me a long time to figure out there was something wrong with me. I thought there was no light at the end of the tunnel. It is a bad disease, but there is help out there. You have to be willing to take the help – that’s the key point,” he said.
After speaking about his own experience, Shay has had many farmers approach him to talk about their difficulties.
The issue of inheritance can be a very thorny one with bleak outcomes as evidenced by tragedies in recent years, Shay said.
“Things are getting more expensive by the years and while the Department of Agriculture has told the banks to help farmers, the banks are not looking at the bigger picture.
“During the Celtic Tiger, the farmers kept the banks alive, but now in a lot of cases, the banks won’t help and it’s wrong,” he added.