Rural Support celebrating successful first year of Ederney Plough On Group

The Ederney group commenced in March 2023 with Murphy’s on Main Street Community Hub as their host venue.

Led by Group Leader Neil Armstrong and assisted by volunteer Cormac McKervey, the group has grown from 11 men to 19 men. The group have enjoyed trips to the Ulster American Folk Park, Clogher Valley Show and AFBI Omagh as well as a talk by a community pharmacist and joining the Ederney Community Autumn Equinox event. The group appreciated meeting with Plumbridge and Belcoo groups for Christmas lunch at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen, where they had great banter and a lovely meal together.

Since the New Year, the Ederney Plough On group have had an Irish Language Officer from Fermanagh & Omagh District Council attend their February meeting, speaking to the men about townland names and the rich heritage folklore surrounding Ederney village. The group recently had their March meet-up when they attended a tour at the RNLI’s Enniskillen Lifeboat Station. The men might have enjoyed seeing the brand new, New Holland at the station rather than the lifeboat itself but that was to be expected when you have a group of farmers together with machinery on show!

The Plough On project aims to tackle rural isolation and increase social opportunities for older male farmers by offering participants the chance to connect with other like-minded individuals on areas of shared interest such as farming, rural heritage, and history.

Benefits of participation include improvements to the farmers’ emotional and mental wellbeing by being part of a new male network focused on farming life, and for the men’s wider farming family who report on the positive impact they see after each monthly meet-up.

Group Leader Neil Armstrong noted: “It’s great to see the men come together for shared interests – trips and activities monthly. They tell me frequently that they are delighted to come each month and you would regularly hear chat in the village about what the Plough On men have been up to each month.”

From its inception in July 2021, Plough On has become integral to how Rural Support support the farming community in Northern Ireland. Plough On Co-Ordinator Shannon McCullagh outlined: “Plough On is such an important initiative to support older farming men. Being out on the ground you can see firsthand how much the men’s lives have changed from being involved. I have been out with the Ederney Plough On group various times now and each and every member is so welcoming and delighted to have the project running in their village. We are very grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for supporting our vision and providing the funding which has made this project possible.”

If you would like to find out more information or to support this project and other services and programmes delivered by Rural Support, go to the NI Farm Support hub at www.ruralsupport.org.uk or telephone the office on 028 8676 0040.