Claremorris Men’s Shed, Co Mayo

Perhaps best associated with its key role in the town’s annual Scarecrow Festival, Claremorris Men’s Shed is also notable for its uniquely composed membership.

In mid-July, John Fallon, chair of Claremorris Men’s Shed, was recognised by another iconic community organisation for his contribution to the picturesque Co Mayo town. John was nominated and honoured at the second annual Claremorris Red Cross Community Volunteer of the Year awards, hosted at Claremorris Town Hall Theatre.

The award recognised John’s actions as the driving force behind Claremorris Men’s Shed, the annual Scarecrow Festival as well as range of other community initiatives and activities. While major awards at national and European level have been conferred on the Irish Men’s Sheds Association in recent years, community-level recognition is just as important, if not more so.

Everyone at the IMSA (Irish Men’s Sheds Association) and the broader men’s sheds movement congratulates John on his award, and, as the man himself would no doubt insist, extends those congratulations to all members of Claremorris Men’s Shed.

Armagh Men’s Shed, Co Armagh

No less a titan in its community, Armagh Men’s Shed is also linking up with a prestigious local charity to deepen its impact on its local area. Shed member Frank Conlon has completed a stunningly rendered model of a lighthouse, which is to be auctioned on behalf of CHARIS Integrated Cancer Care.

A detail from Frank Conlon's stunning lighthouse.

Based in Cookstown, CHARIS offers services such as counselling, yoga, dietary support and financial/benefits advice to individuals and families affected by cancer. In June, CHARIS Cancer Care was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the United Kingdom’s most prestigious award for voluntary groups.

It is only fitting, therefore, that such unsung local heroism should be recognised and supported by a local shed, which operates under the same ethos of selfless community care.

Portalington Men’s Shed, Co Laois

Frequently showcased on this page, Portarlington Men’s Shed is widely known for its community spirit and the spark of innovative thinking it brings to all its projects.

With environmental and biodiversity issues justly to the fore, Portarlington Men’s Shed has placed its considerable talents at the disposal of the town’s tiniest inhabitants.

“Bug hotels” are wooden structures that provide a welcome refuge for bees, wasps, butterflies and a whole host of winged creatures that play such a vital role, via pollination, in the stability of our ecosystems.

Hotel for Bugs - Portarlington Men's shed does it bit for biodiversity.

Portarlington Men’s Shed is currently in the process of creating three such bug hotels as part of an ambitious collaboration with Portalington’s local Tidy Towns committee.

Materials for the interior of the bug hotel were crowd-sourced via an appeal to the local community. Local kids, parents and members of an after-school group obligingly scoured the woodlands and gardens of the area for pine-cones and branches of the appropriate thickness.

In addition to underpinning Portarlington’s return to Tidy Towns after a two-year hiatus, the shed also recently featured in another good-news story.

Shed member Mohammad, a refugee from war-ravaged Syria where he worked as a farmer, has overseen the transformation of a dormant community garden. Together with his friend Radwan, a fellow refugee from Syria, Mohammad planted seeds from his homeland on the barren patch of earth, producing a riot of tastes, smells and colours which featured on RTÉ News. CL

If any of the following stories move you to get involved, or to recommend a shed to a loved one or neighbour, please visit www.menssheds.ie or call 01-8916150 to find details of your nearest shed.