THE role of marts as a social hub for many farmers – and especially for those in the older age categories – is currently being examined in a project organised by the University of Galway (UG).

The Rural Studies Centre of UG has teamed up with Mountbellew Mart to launch a pilot initiative which will run through this month and April.

Entitled Farmers’ Yards, the sales’ days at Mountbellew Mart for the next six weeks or so will provide farmers with the opportunity to meet and talk in a ‘familiar and friendly’ mart setting.

The project is funded by UG’s Illuminate Programme with the support of St. Jarlath’s Credit Union and aims to highlight the ‘social facility’ that a local mart provides for the farming community.

According to the study organisers the mart setting and canteen ‘provides a vital social outlet for the local farming community and particularly for those who have few other social outlets and who may live alone.

Project Leader, Dr. Shane Conway of University of Galway, said that many farmers relied on their weekly visit to the mart to meet up with friends, exchange ideas and to catch up on local news.

He added that Mountbellew Mart’s existing position and reputation as a focal point of activity within the heart of the rural community made it an ideal location for the project.

“The well-established Men’s Sheds movement showcases the benefits of such a peer group at local level.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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