Niall Nordell Ireland

‘Older Men’s Lives - a Qualitative Study’

Waterford Institute of Technology Centre for Social and Family Research

Department of Applied Arts College Street Campus

Personal Profile D.OB. 18-09-1948 (62) Married 2 Children Marketing Manager / Managing Director Security Printing Co. & Direct Mrkt. Co.

Redundant 1995 – Back to Education 2003 Degree B.A. (Hons.) 1st Class 2007 (HP)

Scholarship Research Master 2008 – 2011 ‘ Older Men’s Lives – a Qualitative Study’

REPUBLIC of IRELAND Language Gaelic + English

Island off the coast of Europe 300 miles X 150 miles

Population of 4.58 million (2011) - (Old 11%) Whole Island Divided into 32 counties

26 counties Republic 6 counties Northern Ireland (UK) (1.2m pop)

Capital Dublin 94% of pop. Roman Catholic

100 Years Independent in 2016 (2022 - 1st Parliament)

The Study Brief:

To research the lives of single older men living alone and in poverty in

Ireland. Modified to establish if the State had

treated all it’s citizens equally since the foundation of the State (1916) as

articulated by the Founders.

KEY ELEMENTS

Who, what, why ,where, when, how . . . Qualitative Study (Semi-structured). Older Men (65 -87)(1925-43 approx.)

Urban (6) & Rural (6) All Socio Economic Groups

Active Small Farmer, Retired Small Farmer, Skilled Tradesman, Computer Development Manager, Bus Driver, Farm Labourer, Gentleman’s Gentleman, Circus Performer & Strongman, Member of Oireachtas, Retired Senior Civil

Servant, Electrician, Farmer/Fisherman, Decorator

Separated (1), Divorced(1), Never Married(8), Widower(2), Father(4).

The further back I look the further forward I can see . (Churchill, 1935)

Social Determinants Model Source: Dahlgren & Whitehead (1998)

PresenterPresentation NotesAs a basis for studying this group I have chosen THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS MODEL DEVELOPED BY DAHLGREN AND WHITEHEAD

AS THIS MOST CLOSELY REFLECTS THE LIFE PATH OF OLDER MEN

A MAJOR PROPORTION OF MENS LIVES BEING INVOLVED IN AND INFLUENCED BY THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

Social Determinants tell us that (Black Report , 1980): Men who come from lower socio economic groups (lower income groups)(SEG 5/6) on average are . . . less well educated, are more likely to be in trouble with the law and/or imprisoned, have more involvement with harmful drugs, suffer from worse life-course health, die younger, smoke and drink more, visit their doctor less, are less likely to adhere to medical directions, have more accidents – workplace & road than those from SEG 1/2.

Important to be born into the right SEG family for Disease Free Life Expectancy (DFLE)

State Easter Rising 1916

Labouring classes

Craftsmen

Professional Classes

Pro-Treaty Anti-Treaty

Merchant Classes

Justice

PresenterPresentation NotesState: Divided by civil war convictions, cash strapped, class divisions, neutral, economically at war with biggest customer, no natural resources other than agricultureThe political climates was dominated by pro & anti – treaty divisions - Civil War (20s) – Economic War(30s) – WW II (40s) - Class divisions – upper (ascendancy & big farmers), middle (professionals), lower (trade & unskilled) - urban rural divide – migration to cities and emigration (30K p.a.) to UK & USA by young, especially females. (Pop.(M)’26:2.97, ’61:2.82, ’91:3.53, ’06:4.23)State hard currency problems. Few natural assets - Minimal Foreign Direct Investment – no venture capital - tariffs on imports to protect industries and on exports by UK – only export earner agricultural products at low cost (store cattle & generic farm produce) - shortages of feeds, fertilisers, oils, petrol, essential raw materials – second-hand equipment - poor quality locally produced good – Economic atmosphere similar to current recession except for 40 years

Economic / Society Rural & Urban

City Slums - Unemployment Rural Decay - Emigration

Job Insecurity – Casual Labour

Little Mechanisation Little Indigenous Industry Sparse Capital

PresenterPresentation NotesSociety: Large families, poor housing, unskilled labour force, under educated, widespread poverty, no risk capital for industry, starved of raw materials, no credit institutions, flat-line economy, mass emigration of educated and women Large families – poor housing – widespread poverty and hardship up to the early 60s - mostly manual labour - early school leaving – extensive social capital – low crime rate – low skill levels/low pay – job: personal recommendations essential – distant travel for work – little job security / labour protection – work environment, Factories Act 1955 – no legal minimum wage – 40-45 hour week normal – no mandatory work pension provision – (OAP £0.45 p.w. 1926) – time rich, cash poor – scarcity - rapid change in technology: electricity, pneumatics, mechanisation, time & motion, centralised production, computerisation – SOCIAL CLIMATE: Challenging – restrained – submissive – reverential - respectful – humble – simple – sombre – deferential – fatalistic – non (anti)- entrepreneurialism

The Lived Environment for Older Men

Dominant Social Influences throughout 20s,30s,40s,50s,60s,70s

Church

Artane Industrial School St. Vincent's

Pro- Cathedral Christian Brother

Church

Nuns

Dr. McQuaid

Dr. Lucey

PresenterPresentation Notes

Church : Dogmatic, Pervasive (cradle to grave), Authoritarian, Rigid, Very Powerful … Special relationship with State thru Constitution .The church played a major role in the lives of our older men… throughout their lives, and particularly in rural areas. 98% of Pop. Were practicing Catholic, regular mass goers, Special place of Church in Constitution, and had a major influence on Laws relating to medical practices (contraception & abortion), welfare (Mother & Child Scheme), education (Catholic ethos), literature (banning of books), entertainment (dances, films). Throughout the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50, 60s, the Church was the single largest organisation in Ireland after Government huge purchasing power and consequent commercial influence. It was also the largest landowner the in State. And provided cradle to grave services incl. ‘reformatory)’, ‘refuge’ & ‘adoption’. One religious (or more) was to found in most families.

pseudo-name Age Marital Status Living Arrangements Occupation

John 73 Never Married Rural Isolated Farmhouse Small Farmer

Bill 70 Never Married Rural Isolated Farmhouse Small Farmer

Jack 78 Never Married Rural Isolated Farmhouse Labourer

Peter 65 Never Married Rural Townhouse Hospitality Wrk

Philip 69 Never Married Rural isolated Farmhouse Small Farmer

Mike 85 Never Married Isolated Mdrn. Bungalow Small Farmer

George 74 Widower Urban Social Housing Craftsman

Patrick 66 Divorcee Urban Social Housing Technician

Frank 74 Widower Urban Social Housing Painter

Gary 74 Never Married Urban Social Housing Labourer

Jimmy 84 Divorcee Urban Social Housing Bld. Contractor

Paul 74 Divorcee Urban Social Housing Bus Driver

Table 2. Overview of participants

Methodology

Recruitment - Interviewing One to One – Home – Semi-structured Conversation – One Hour – Digital Recorder – Transcription – Theme Analysis - Men Interviewing Men

(Bonhomme, 2005) Barriers to interviewing men.

Men more closed - interpersonally Less inclined to share information verbally –

more likely to feel challenged at information gathering less able to inform on their feelings

self-reliance & achievement orientation. (Oliffe and Morz, 2005)

Men Don’t Volunteer – they are recruited As men do not express themselves easily … the interview can be over before it starts – be

enthusiastic Provide questions in advance – alleviates anxiety

Be courteous, non-competitive & highly organised, dress informally, be punctual, non-judgemental

Expect stoicism, overt masculine indicators … strong handshakes, control of time & place … eases with time

Reassurance on ‘no wrong answers’, start general – move to specific … remain open & interested

Silent types … use prompts (what, why, where), probes (your), loops (explain to be exactly, again)

Interest fades quickly … limit to 1 hr. Few men interested in revisiting interview via transcripts

Older Men Photos from Internet

PresenterPresentation NotesStudy structure ….. The study involves a traditional implementation which is outlined here. In addition to this it iisalso affected by certain specific attributes associated with men and in particular OLDER MENMen more closed interpersonally …. Less inclined to share information verbally – ….more likely to feel challenged at information gathering less able to inform on feelings ….Restricted expression of same sex affection …… self-reliance … achievement orientation. (Oliffe and Morz, 2005) Men Don’t Volunteer – they are recruited …. As men do not express themselves … the interview can be over before it starts – be enthusiasticProvide questions in advance – alleviates anxiety ….Be courteous, non-competitive & highly organised, dress informally, be punctual, non-judgementalExpect stoicism, overt masculine indicators … strong handshakes, control of time & place … eases with timeReassurance on ‘no wrong answers’, start general – move to specific … remain open & interestedSilent types … use prompts (what, why, where), probes (your), loops (explain to be exactly, again) Interest fades quickly … limit to 1 hr. Few men interested in revisiting interview via transcripts

Effect of these Influences

Adoption of unquestioning ‘simple faith’ (Inglis,1998) in Catholic teaching, cultivation of humility & shyness, modesty, honesty,

charity, etc. Deep rooted respect for law & order – low crime rate

Widespread social capital in all communities Poor pay, poor conditions, long hours, high unemployment, high

prices due to captive markets, mass emigration, fatalism Little infrastructural development in health, roads, transport,

sanitation, social services, huge public debt Low levels of formal education (and literacy) within working

population Little entrepreneurial initiatives due to lack of risk capital

Little social mobility Flat-line economy for 20s, 30s, 40, 50s, 60s, 70s (half), 80s

(recession) 90, 2000 + BOOM + RECESSION

Findings Loneliness NOT a problem generally

‘You could put a half a dozen of these fellows in a room together for a couple of hours and they wouldn’t say ten words to each other

and they would be perfectly content’ Significant scope for health improvement

Educational attainment generally low . . . No interest in technology, TV, radio, internet etc.,

Inadequate infrastructure to support Social integration / inclusion . . . Drink drive laws major impact

Widespread poverty limits choice for better QOL Poor housing

High levels of Spirituality V Religiosity

Recommendations Institute educational assessment & literacy

programmes Improve infrastructure in built environment and

home swap to population centres Introduce Advocacy Programme to ensure full

State benefits availed of Building programme for energy efficient homes

Technology Familiarisation for security and assistance programmes

Research Question Answered

The State did not treat all of its citizens equally it discriminated against the working classes in

education, job opportunities, social support & human rights and favoured elite groups such

as the Church and Professional classes throughout its existence and ignored those

forced to emigrate.

Older Men’s Comments/ Views /Philosophy on Age: ‘I glory in being old … I never bothered about age’ Life: ‘Our biggest job was to survive, we had nothing, nobody had anything’ Death: ‘I have already had my wake’ Wealth: ‘I grew up in the 50s and I appreciated money (EU) when I got it’ Loneliness: ‘The only thing I would like if someone would call into me and talk’ Socialising: ‘As you get older the late hours aren’t good’ Friends: ‘ I know lots of people, I don’t have that many close friends’ Family: ’My wife was an English girl …when the children left home we drifted apart,

everything with me was Irish, Irish clubs, Catholic Church, and that didn’t suit her at all’ Being Single: ‘After the war everybody left around here, no girls stayed anyway!’

Why Men’s Sheds are particularly appropriate for Irish Older Men.

Non Denominational Non Judgemental

Class Free Community Based Socially Inclusive

Promotes Social Integration Outlet for Life Skills & Learning

Excellent Forum for SPHE

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