Some changes arrive quietly, through a community hall, a group of men walking together, and a willingness to start small. In Donegal, Mayo, Waterford and Cork, a free programme linked to the HSE has been helping men in mid-life rebuild their bodies and their friendships, often at the point where farming, work or isolation had worn them thin. Its story is one of ordinary men choosing to show up, and of how a modest intervention, built on company as much as exercise, can alter the shape of a life.
From Dairy Farm to Campervan: How a Donegal Man's Men on the Move Journey Changed His Life
I decided there was more to life than milking cows
Mark
Billy lost three stone, but the story goes well beyond weight, doesn't it?
Mimi
It does. He quit dairy farming, converted a campervan and cycled the Wild Atlantic Way with Anne. He says none of it happens without the programme.
Luke
That's his own account, though. Nothing here shows the programme caused all of it, and he says himself he was debt free, which made the leap possible.
Mark
Fair. What about Eugene Tobin?
Mimi
He went from about 18 stone to 13 and says he's off his diabetes, cholesterol and heart medication. He walks 10 miles most mornings.
Luke
Again, that's self-reported. The piece doesn't say whether a doctor signed off on stopping medication, so I'd hold that lightly.
Mark
What does he say was the hook?
Mimi
Low-pressure starts, and company. He says older men often lack friends, and the group let them talk about things like a cancer diagnosis.
Mark
Is there evidence beyond personal stories?
Luke
The programme is evaluated by the HSE and several institutions, but the article gives no results from those evaluations. The 6,000 participants figure comes from one coordinator, Charlie Lambert.
Mimi
What's clear is the origin: a 2012 report found rural men were less active, and a 120-man pilot grew into a national programme.
Il Polso
- A man who once weighed three stone more and struggled with depression now runs before dawn and has traded a dairy farm for a campervan and a leased field.
- Eugene Tobin came off diabetes, cholesterol and heart medication after joining a group that never pushed anyone past their limits.
- Roughly 6,000 men across Ireland have passed through the programme since Mayo began it in 2013, and the HSE and several universities are still measuring its results.
- Lockdown forced the sessions online, but friendships formed in the group have carried on, and the Inniscarra team has just resumed training after a near-miss for a national award.
- A 5km celebration is planned for when restrictions fully lift, with sessions set to pick up again in September and run through to Christmas.
Some changes arrive quietly, through a community hall, a group of men walking together, and a willingness to start small. In Donegal, Mayo, Waterford and Cork, a free programme linked to the HSE has been helping men in mid-life rebuild their bodies and their friendships, often at the point where farming, work or isolation had worn them thin. Its story is one of ordinary men choosing to show up, and of how a modest intervention, built on company as much as exercise, can alter the shape of a life.
Billy McMahon spent last year cycling the Wild Atlantic Way, his wife Anne driving the campervan while he pedalled. Six years earlier, turning 50, he was a dairy farmer in Ramelton, County Donegal, who had struggled with depression. He joined a Men on the Move pilot at Ray Community Centre in 2015, lost three stone and, by his own account, gained a new circle of friends. Running, cycling and kayaking followed, and he even learned to swim despite a long-standing fear of water.
Fifteen months ago he left dairy farming. His children had gone into other fields, so he leased the land through Land Mobility, and now he is paid by the new farmer for jobs on the same ground. He and Anne were debt free, which gave them room to choose. They have links with projects in Rwanda and Ethiopia, and when travel allows, those are the places they want to go. He is careful not to preach: not everyone could do what he did, and people need not.
Eugene Tobin, a 62-year-old cinema manager in Dungarvan, tells a similar story. Five years ago he weighed around 18 stone and was on medication for diabetes, cholesterol and his heart. Now he is 13 stone, off the medication, and walks ten miles most mornings. He values the company as much as the fitness: older men often have few friends, and the group gave them somewhere to talk, even about a cancer diagnosis.
The programme began in Mayo in 2013, spread to eight counties in 2016 and then went nationwide. It is free, aimed at beginners, and combines group exercise with workshops, a health booklet and weekly phone contact. In Cork, the Inniscarra group has just returned to training after being one of three finalists for a community award. A celebration event awaits once restrictions lift, and the sessions will carry on into the autumn.
Billy McMahon and his wife Anne spent last year cycling the Wild Atlantic Way, she driving the campervan and he pedalling. Six years earlier, as he turned 50, Billy was a dairy farmer in Ramelton, County Donegal, who had struggled with depression in the past. He signed up for a Men on the Move pilot programme run at Ray Community Centre in 2015 by Donegal Sports Partnership with the HSE. He lost three stone and, by his own account, gained a new circle of friends.
The changes kept coming. Running, cycling and kayaking became part of his routine, and he learned to swim despite a former fear of water. He now runs three mornings a week at 6am and does a long run every Saturday. Fifteen months ago he quit dairy farming, and last year he converted a van into a campervan. His son studied history and his daughter aerospace engineering, and neither wanted the farm, so he leased the land through Land Mobility. He says the arrangement suits him: the man who took over pays him to spread slurry and fertiliser and cut hedges, so he sometimes works his own land for wages.
He says he could have carried on for another ten years, but he and Anne were debt free, which gave them room to choose. Anne is a vet who works part-time. The couple visited agricultural projects before leasing a farm in Rwanda, and they have links with a charity in Ethiopia. When Covid restrictions allow, those are the places they want to go. In the meantime Billy does woodwork and helps various charities. He is careful not to preach: not everyone could do what he did, he says, and people need not. But the programme, he says, broadened his horizons. As a farmer he valued meeting people from his own area outside farming circles, and the exercise was something he did for himself rather than for others.
Eugene Tobin, a 62-year-old cinema manager in Dungarvan, tells a similar story. When he joined the Waterford Sports Partnership programme about five years ago he weighed around 18 stone and took medication for diabetes, cholesterol and his heart. He was lethargic, snacking a lot, and had little motivation beyond work. Now he is 13 stone and off the medication, and walks 10 miles six or seven mornings a week. He says everyone started at a low level and instructors never pushed anyone beyond what they could do. He also values the company: older men often have few friends, he says, and the group gave them a place to offload and to discuss things like a cancer diagnosis. He did the online programme during lockdown, and some members have met up outside the group.
The programme began in Mayo in 2013, was extended to eight counties in 2016 and then went nationwide. Charlie Lambert, sports co-ordinator with Mayo Sports Partnership, says about 6,000 men have taken part. It grew from a 2012 Sport Ireland Mayo/Sligo adult participation report, which found limited participation by men in sport and physical activity in rural areas. A 16-week pilot in Westport, Claremorris and Ballina involved 120 men and was evaluated by Waterford IT. The HSE, Waterford IT, IT Carlow and the Centre for Men's Health in Leeds have evaluated the programme since.
It is free and aimed at beginners. It offers structured group exercise twice a week, combining cardiovascular work with strength and conditioning, along with two facilitated workshops, a 24-page health booklet, a pedometer, weekly phone contact and a wallet card for recording measurements. Before Covid, participants were measured for weight, height, BMI and waist circumference and did a timed one-mile walk or run, then repeated the measurements 12 weeks later. Mountain walks and sing-songs were part of the mix. During lockdown it moved online, and a 5km celebration event is planned once restrictions fully lift.
In Cork, coach Nicky Jones says the Inniscarra group has been back training for five or six weeks. It was recently one of the final three nominated for a community team award, narrowly beaten by a team from the city. The group will break for summer and restart in September, running to Christmas, mostly indoors in winter. Until then, it plans occasional hill walks, cycle trips and fishing. Local sports partnerships have details for men who want to join.
Citazioni salienti
Had I not gone to Men on the Move, none of this would have happened.— Billy McMahon
I'm a different person as a result of Men on the Move and I don't want to go back to the way I was.— Eugene Tobin
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