Cot boats were a part of the Irish way of life for many centuries, with the Annals of Ulster making a record that cots were destroyed on Lough Erne by ferocious winds. These flat-bottomed boats, used by fishermen, traders, farmers and even as a mode of transport, were recreated by Cavan Men’s Shed in 2014.

“We did the project in 2014 where we built the Lough Erne Cot in the summer. We made it ourselves and had lots of people on board with different sets of skills, including carpenters, welders, painters and even a drama teacher,” says Seamus Connolly, one of the founders of Cavan Men’s Shed.

“The boat was 36ft long by 4ft 6in, weighed two tonnes and held between 10 to 12 people,” he adds.

Cavan Men’s Shed was set up four years ago when Seamus Connolly, Peter O’Hanlon, Micky Thornoran, Finian McNamara and Daniel Downey felt there was no outlet for men to socialise.

Since then, they have made flower boxes for the Tidy Towns committee, bird and bat boxes for the citizens of Cavan town, as well as wooden crosses for graves and two other cot boats, one in the Men’s Shed in Cavan and another in Crom Estate, Fermanagh.

The workshop, which is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am-4pm, is situated in Cana House on Barnam Street in Cavan town.

Every Wednesday the men go bowling in Astra Bowling Alley in Cavan and on the other days they play cards in the evenings.

“We are going to a seminar on mental health at the Carlow Institute next week, and we have also done trips like going to Croke Park. We also went to the Ballyjamesduff Museum in Cavan one day to look at the World War One trenches,” Seamus says.

With men ranging in age from their 30s to late 70s, and from all different backgrounds, there is plenty of variety at Cavan Men’s Shed. New members are always welcome.

For more information, call 098-253 6840 or Seamus on 087-713 0036.