Diabetes Ireland

The Irish Men’s Shed Association and

Diabetes Ireland hosted a successful information session with sheds from Westmeath as part of the Irish Men’s Sheds Association County Cluster meeting on 10 November in Mullingar Men’s Shed. The aim of the information session was to gather input from Men’s Shed members on a new programme called Diabetes Awareness and Knowledge, which will be rolled out in sheds in Co Westmeath from January 2017. The programme will aim to provide information on Type II diabetes, what it is and how you might be able to prevent it through small changes in exercise and eating habits. For further information, contact the IMSA.

Ashbourne Men’s Shed

Ashbourne Men’s Shed landing on the beaches at Collon Slane, National War Museum. No casualties just great craic. New members welcome. Open on Wednesday and Friday mornings. We take part in regular table quizzes, ballads, gardening, and there’s plenty of good company. Contact Hugh Stevens on 087-669 1529.

Kilbeggan Men’s Shed

Last week a bog oak, bog yew carving course started at the shed in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath. Their instructor was Para, who is very creative and imaginative. He brought along a dozen assorted pieces of bog oak/bog yew which the members will carve into various images over the coming weeks. The course is funded by Longford/Westmeath ETB and the coordinator is Nuala O’Brien. Thanks to all participants for taking part.

Sixmilebridge / Kilmurray Men’s Shed

The Sixmilebridge/Kilmurry Men’s Shed started in October 2013. The group was primarily set up to promote men’s physical and mental wellbeing, but it has become involved in working with community and voluntary groups. They meet at the Courthouse in Sixmilebridge every Tuesday night from 7:00-9:00pm. New members are always welcome.

For the third successive year, the men’s shed has joined forces with the local community and the local Sixmilebridge Co-Op cattle mart to organise and manage their local Christmas craft market. This event is unique in that the venue for the market is in the cattle pens of the mart, all cleaned and decorated. The event takes place on Thursday 1 December from 5:00-9:00pm.

Swords Men’s Shed

The Swords Men’s Shed Christmas concert will be in the Riasc Centre, Swords, on Saturday 3 December.

Soprano Aimee Banks will be the star guest. She represented Ireland in the junior Eurovision contest in November 2015. Since then, she has performed in Carnegie Hall, New York, on The Late Late show and at other major events. With a very strong Christmas theme and great raffle prizes, tickets are selling briskly and can be secured by ringing 083-4875 352

Cooley Peninsula Men’s Shed

Valerie Courtney has been welcomed to Cooley Men’s Shed where she is giving a five-week cookery course. Fourteen members are attending. They were shown how to make a red pepper soup, followed by a beef and mushroom hotpot. To finish, there was an apple and blackberry crumble.

A town famous for whiskey and horse racing, Kilbeggan is also home to its own branch of the Men’s Shed. Chairman TP Gorman spoke with Anthony Jordan.

“The town was full of retirees – from Gardaí and postmen to school teachers like myself. When we held the meeting to start the shed, there was great enthusiasm about it. Suddenly it began,” says TP Gorman, one of its founders, about the early days of Kilbeggan Men’s Shed.

Beginning as a suggestion from a town planner back in 2014, this branch of the great organisation, like so many others, has flourished in its local area.

The impact it has had on the members it caters for has not gone unnoticed either.

“The human contact element of this organisation is so important. As retirees, it is so easy to slip into a culture of feeling bored and isolated. You’re busy your entire life, then you retire and suddenly you have all this time on your hands out of nowhere. For the men who come here, it gives them the human contact they otherwise would miss out on. It keeps you in touch. That is so important,” TP explains.

The 20 members who are part of the shed have enjoyed the courses and classes that the organisations affords them, such as cookery classes, IT skills and bog oak carving classes. In keeping with their counterparts nationwide, the Kilbeggan shed also works closely with the local community.

“I mean the community involvement is huge for us. Earlier this year we built a bench for the 1916 commemorations with the local secondary school, who carved in the names of the executed soldiers of the Rising on the bench. The bench is now installed in Kilbeggan and we had a celebration to commemorate it. These things are part of what we do,” says TP.

The shed meets once a week on Wednesdays from 10am-1pm but, similar to other sheds, these times vary. It is located in Kilbeggan on the Clara road.

For further information about Kilbeggan’s Men’s Shed, email kilbeggan@menssheds.ie or phone 086-1653 090.