A project is being set up in Killybegs to support women left to raise families on their own when men are at sea.
Mnβ na Mara was established by the Killybegs Women's Group and has received a grant from the National Committee on Volunteering to help establish an office in the fishing port.
Uncertainty is the biggest problem for families dependent on the fishing industry, according to Ms Carol McClean, a founding member of the group.
It is difficult for the wife of a fisherman to plan anything because it is impossible to know when he will be back in port, she said.
"When they leave they don't know how long they will be away for or where they are going to land."
Even people working in the town's fish factories find life unpredictable. At busy times the factories can be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and at weekends.
Women are often lone parents, particularly the wives and partners of men who work on the larger boats which can be away for eight weeks or longer.
Ms Anne Connaughton is another woman involved in setting up the project. She has first-hand experience of the difficulties facing fishermen's wives. Her husband was only at home for the birth of one of their four children.
She says children in Killybegs get used to their fathers not being around for birthday parties, First Communions and Confirmations.
"The worst thing is when a child gets sick in the middle of the night, you know all the responsibility is on you. If you have to go to hospital you have three others in the house to think about," she said.
Mnβ na Mara hopes to help women with a range of issues, from loneliness and isolation to budgeting for a family when income comes in a lump sum and not at guaranteed intervals.
They are also conscious of the need to support women when there are tragedies at sea.
"When we hear of an accident everybody in the town holds their breath because we all know somebody out on the boats," said Ms Carol McClean.
They are particularly concerned for young women who move into the area and who don't have the support of family in the locality.
Such women can even find it difficult to attend events organised by the women's group because of the need to get babysitters and the costs involved.
Since the Killybegs Women's Group was set up in 1997, these are the subjects that have been raised at monthly meetings. "It's good to be able to talk to someone who has been through the same thing, to know there is somebody you can call," said Ms Connaughton.
Her children are aged eight months to 13 years. Other women have told her that children's teenage years are the hardest and family dynamics can be difficult.
"When a father comes home intermittently they want to play a role but how do they define that role? Do they lay down the law, or do the opposite and give the kids everything they want," she said.
The Mnβ na Mara project has been helped by a grant of £2,150 from the National Committee on Volunteering and the use of an office from the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation.
A computer has been installed for use by any of the women - for some this means they can now communicate regularly with men working on larger boats through e-mail.
In the past the women's group has organised a wide range of activities and courses, some of which reflect the unique experience of women in Killybegs. A course in car maintenance, for example, proved popular.
Computer courses are ongoing and one of the first courses to be organised by Mnβ na Mara will be run with Bord Iascaigh Mhara on family finance and budgeting.
The office will serve as an information unit and the primary aim is to develop a support system for women in a community where more than 70 per cent of households are directly dependent on the fishing industry.