Gift for goddaughter shaped demand for woodcarver's crafts 

Meet the maker: When Shane Dennehy carved a doll's cradle as a present, he was suddenly inundated with requests for toys 

Shane Dennehy's love for woodcarving has been inspired by the native woodlands surrounding his home. 

It's funny how sometimes an idea takes shape as if it was meant to be. That’s how a Kerry man who turned his woodcarving hobby into his job sees it.

Shane Dennehy grew up in Glenflesk, a parish surrounded by native Irish woodlands, and it’s these that inspired Shane’s love of whittling toys, household items and crafts.

But it was the birth of Shane’s god-daughter Michaela in 2013 that was a turning point.

“I made a personalised doll's cradle for her playroom. When my sister Myra shared a picture of it on social media, numerous people contacted me to see if I could do the same for their children,” he said.

Before he knew it, Shane was inundated with requests for other bespoke crafted pieces.

Following this demand, he used the precious hoard of timber slices that his late younger brother Denis had cut for him many years previously, and had seasoned in his shed.

It was in that same outbuilding that Shane had spent many happy childhood moments with his dad Seán, watching him cutting timber and tackling the to-do list of chores of a fulltime farmer.

Crafts by Shane Dennehy.

During lockdown, Shane found he had time to develop this hobby into a business.

“My family are certainly my inspiration in setting-up Anú Crafts — my late brother Denis who cut timber slices for me 15 years ago, way before I even had the idea of starting my own business, my late father for passing on his huge work ethic, my sister Myra for pushing me to set up the business and my mother Betty, who is a constant source of inspiration and support," he added.

And if the trees around his home prompted his passion, then the mountains beyond them inspired its name — Anú Crafts Killarney is called after two of the peaks, the Paps of Anú, in the mountain range in which Glenflesk nestles, near the Kerry/Cork bounds.

Anú, in turn, is the name of an ancient goddess.

Anú Crafts aims to reproduce beauty from local trees that may have fallen, giving these unique native Irish hardwoods a new lease of life. 

This ties in with the ancient beliefs surrounding the mountains. 

Shane says he takes pride in producing bowls from such fallen and storm-damaged trees, all sourced within walking distance of his workshop. 

"Every piece is unique, and is cut, shaped, chiselled, sanded and oiled to suit its character," he  said 

Shane at work. 

“What I love most about my work is the delight I see in people’s faces when they receive their personalised woodcrafts.” 

“I love taking on custom-made personal commissions where people contact me looking for something very personal, but don’t really know what they want.

“I enjoy the time I spend talking it through with them, getting a feeling of the person and their story and seeing the impact my personalised craft piece has on them. It is such a rewarding experience.”

See www.anucrafts.ie