Objectives: This study was designed to explore the social correlates of the country suicide rate in Ireland.
Method: Suicide rates for Irish counties were calculated for the period 1978-1984, a seven year period centred around the 1981 Census.
Results: The county suicide rates were positively associated with death rates and the percentage of elderly population and negatively with change in population, the birth rate and the percentage of the population under the age of 15.
Conclusions: There is good evidence to suggest that the official suicide rate in Ireland has been underestimated in the past. This underestimation may not have been uniform across all of the counties.
