Kinsale Men's Shed is a haven for all seasons

Almost 70 men are members of the local Shed, helping the group to do invaluable work for the Kinsale community

Pictured are Malcolm Hall, Gerry O'Neill, Clwyd Evans, Brendan Hurley, Pat O'Leary, and Bernard O'Donovan, members of the Kinsale Men's Shed.

There’s always something happening at the Kinsale Men’s Shed. Good community deeds, musical performances and kindly local works are all part of the fabric in this centre of constant activity. 

“We have a membership of up to 35 here in the town,” John O’Connor explains. “We would always have anything up to 20 people here at any one time, but almost double that number when you count in every member.”

On the morning we met, John and his colleagues were preparing for the finishing up choir performances for the season. 

“We do have some very good singers here in the Shed, and can put on a show with music and entertainment in local nursing homes and daycare centres. 

"We would also travel to the local hospital here in Kinsale as well as Bandon hospital to perform for the staff and patients. We have a monthly routine of songs, poetry and a few funny stories and yarns thrown in for good measure — and often we will invite people to join us in the singing. There is always a good strain of humour running through,” John adds. “It is no good without a laugh here and there.”

Over the past four years, volunteers have worked to renovate a building that will now become crucial to “help improve the mental health of both young and old” people in the town. 

The Kinsale Community Health and Wellbeing Resource Centre, known as The Well, is the new home to the Kinsale Youth Support Services, the Kinsale Youth Centre/Café as well as the Kinsale Men's Shed.

The name The Well is an acronym for Wellness, Education, Life-giving and Life-skills. The centre will foster inclusive community participation by providing an environmentally-friendly facility where health and wellbeing, education, recreation, celebration, and arts are all enjoyed. Interim Chief Officer of Cork Kerry Community Healthcare Gabrielle O'Keeffe said it is “a fantastic achievement” to see the centre up and running in the heart of the town.

“The fact that a Youth Café sits alongside a Men's Shed here is truly inclusive and mutually beneficial."

Geraldine Machin, Christopher O'Sullivan TD , Minister of State for Mental Health & Older People Mary Butler, Chairperson Carmel Murphy, and men's shed members John O'Connor and Gearoid Wycherley pictured at the official opening of the Kinsale Community Health and Wellbeing Resource Centre.

In a further boost to the movement, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, last November announced funding of €800,000 to support Men’s Sheds.

The initiative will see grants of €2,000 provided to over 400 Men’s Sheds nationwide to assist them with running costs such as electricity or insurance bills. The individual grants will be distributed to the over 400 Men’s Sheds via its representative body, the Irish Men’s Sheds Association. 

“Our Men’s Sheds provide an absolutely invaluable service in communities the length and breadth of the country,” the Minister said. “They help tackle isolation and provide a welcoming and comfortable space for men to come together and socialise. Our Men’s Sheds have gone from being a small organisation just a few years ago to a national representative body with over 400 members, so I hope this funding will assist them over the winter months and help bring our Men’s Sheds from strength to strength.”

The funding builds on the €100,000 recently set aside for Women’s Sheds, which will also see grants of €2,000 provided. 

Enda Egan, CEO of the Irish Men’s Sheds Association, said: “Men’s Sheds have really come into their own in recent years and it’s such a boost for us in the Irish Men’s Sheds Association to know that we can use this funding to help our members with their utility and materials bills. This funding will help towards the sustainability of Sheds as many struggle to reopen after COVID-19; Shed members up and down the country, and their communities will benefit greatly from this funding.”

Having first started in 2009, the Men’s Sheds movement had its birth in Tipperary where the first shed was formed. There are now over 400 sheds registered with the Irish Men’s Sheds Association and at least 12,000 men visiting a shed every week.

In 2013, the Irish movement received recognition at the very highest level when President Michael D. Higgins became patron to the Irish Men’s Sheds Association. In 2018, the Association received the European Citizen’s Award after being nominated by Irish MEPs.

“Our mission is to support the development of the burgeoning men’s sheds movement in Ireland. As a grassroots organisation, we believe strongly in the autonomy of each individual shed, as we strive for a future in which all men have the opportunity to maintain and improve their well-being on their own terms and within their own communities.”