Men’s Shed patron in Australia amazed by movement’s growth here

An academic researcher who contributed significantly to the growth of the Men’s Shed movement in Australia — where it all began — has admitted to being highly impressed by the growth of the organisation in Ireland.

The remarkable growth of the movement in Ireland in the past five years has been such that we now have more outlets per head of population than Australia, the country which came up with the idea in the mid-1990s to improve the overall health of its males.

There are 1,200 sheds Down Under compared to 230 in Ireland, according to George Kelly, chairman of the Irish Men’s Sheds Association.