Kilcormac shed was established in 2015 by Seamus Barron, Declan Costello, Sylvia Sweeney and Sean McCann on the back of an initiative set out for a local town plan.

“One of the areas of the town plan was to have something in place for men because there was an obvious lack. I was working in Kilcormac Development Association at the time and we felt that the Men’s Shed was the best fit for the area,” says Sean McCann, secretary of the shed, who says that many members have “extraordinary gifts”, but might lack the confidence to pursue them.

“We believe some of our guys also have excellent ideas which could have commercial or social success,” continues Sean.

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The community involvement is at the heart of everything that the Kilcormac Men’s Shed puts its hands to.

“Last year we developed a sleigh that was self-driven using a Nissan Micra. We have Santa Claus on board with us and we go around to all of the schools,” says Sean.

The shed is also involved in a pop-up shop with Ballyboy National School that send proceeds out to a school that it funds directly in Africa.

“We have made and sold ‘Santa Stop Here’ signs as well as fairy houses and many other things. Everything we make here we sell. We managed to raise a couple of thousand for the pop-up shop,” Sean continues.

Kilcormac is situated near Lough Boora, which is a natural sanctuary of rare flora and fauna alike.

The men’s shed is heavily involved with local farmers in the midlands, making high-quality products to aid them with their efforts to conserve the rich biodiversity in the area.

As for the future, the men’s shed hopes to undertake an art sculpture in Lough Boora as well as a traditional barrow-making course.

The members of Kilcormac Men’s Shed love to bring fresh ideas to the table with new members always welcome.

The shed opens every Tuesday from 11am to 3pm and is located in Bridge Street, Kilcormac, Co Offaly.

For more information, contact Sean McCann on 0894052528.