Oak stakes carved with tree names in Irish, English, Ogham & Latin by members of Roundwood Men’s Shed. These stakes now grace the Ogham Tree Trail on the Upper Vartry Reservoir Walk
Men’s Shed in Roundwood
The Men’s Shed in Roundwood celebrated its second birthday on 26th September 2018
The Roundwood Men’s Shed is located at Pat Carr’s place in Knockraheen and the members come together every Tuesday from 10 a.m. onwards. New members are always welcome
Transport to the Shed can be arranged if this is a problem.
The Shedders is a very busy place. We have started a garden, a water harvestng initiative and assisted with the ‘water butt’ project operated by Roundwood & District Community Council. We have also erected a backdrop to the 1916 commemorative plaque beside the Garda station in Roundwood. We have also and constructed and erected a small wooden gate at the entrance to a Holy Well in Glasnamullen. Members of the shed participated in a series of one-to-one lessons in the use of laptops/tablets/smartphones in Coláiste Chraobh Abhann – Kilcoole and plan to do so again in October/November of 2017.
Following our success with recent funding applications, we have plans to further develop our garden and the facilities at the Shed.
If you are interested or know someone who might benefit from participating in the shed, please feel free to call 086 8650588 at any time for further information.
So what is a Men’s Shed all about?
There are over 400 Men’s Sheds in Ireland and the country enjoys the greatest concentration of men’s sheds anywhere in the world. Men’s sheds were set up to help men of all backgrounds lead happier, healthier and more productive lives. The Irish men’s Shed Association explains the idea behind the sheds:
Most men have learned from our culture that they don’t talk about feelings and emotions. There has been little encouragement for men to take an interest in their own health and well-being. Unlike women, most men are reluctant to talk about their emotions and that means that they usually don’t ask for help. Probably because of this many men are less healthy than women, they drink more, take more risks and they suffer more from isolation, loneliness and depression.
Good health is based on many factors including feeling good about yourself, being productive and valuable to your community, connecting to friends and maintaining an active body and an active mind. Becoming a member of a Community Men’s Shed gives a man that safe and busy environment where he can find many of these things in an atmosphere of friendship. And, importantly, there is no pressure. Men can just come and have a chat and a cuppa if that is all they’re looking for.
Members of Men’s Sheds can come from all walks of life – the bond that unites them is that they are men with time on their hands and they would like something meaningful to do with that time.
Because men don’t often make a fuss about their problems, these problems have consistently been either ignored or swept under the mat by both our health system and our modern society. It’s time for a change and the Men’s Shed movement is a powerful tool in helping men to once again become valued and valuable members of our community.
The first cabbage from Men’s Shed garden