The garden shed provides men with the last refuge to get away from it all

For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall, You find the tool and potting sheds which are the heart of all.

— The Glory of the Garden by Rudyard Kipling

THEY might be tatty, cramped and smelly but, they’re also a wonderful refuge. The American male is the chief executive of his Den — a kind of sad B’s boardroom — but for the average Irishman, there’s nothing to beat the garden shed.