Steeple Antrim Men’s Shed, Co Antrim
Things are heating up in Co Antrim. Steeple Antrim Men’s Shed has been a full member of the Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA) since 2017. Run in conjunction with local charity Action Mental Health, the shed has never been afraid to push (or even singe) the envelope in its innovative approach to shed activities.
It’s been a busy summer for the shed; in early July, it hosted (with typical Co Antrim hospitality) a visit from a four-shed delegation from Co Monaghan.
But the shed’s latest flourish saw it embark upon an ambitious pyrography project, supported by artist Diane Wilson. Pyrography is the delicate art of burning images, text or design into various forms of wood using a heated implement. The appeal of pyrography as an artform is obvious, as it allows artists, or enthusiastic amateurs, to literally write or draw in fire, an action which satisfies our most primal and our most elevated instincts at one and the same time.
The shed members’ fiery efforts culminated in a public exhibition of their work at the celebrated Antrim Castle Gardens and Clotworthy House venue. Members burned their designs onto hexagonal panels, which were strung together to form a “curtain of art”.
The topic of the works ranged from local icons and landmarks to depictions of eminent local people and personages, as well as references to the history of Co Antrim. One panel featured a beautiful rendition of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, while another comprised a portrait of Belfast-born Ruby Murray, the popular singer who was an icon of 1950s culture throughout Britain.
Other shed members drew upon their inner (and indeed outer) fire to depict their favourite examples of local flora and fauna, with one enterprising member incorporating a brain-scrambling visual riddle into his effort.
Entitled Timeless Landmarks, the exhibition drew a wide variety of visitors, by no means restricted to the friends and families of shed members, and all came away with a new-found appreciation for the art of pyrography and the latent artistic ability which smoulders within each shed.
Men’s sheds have mushroomed so spectacularly over the past few years that it’s easy to forget how recently they emerged on our shores. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA) itself was founded only in 2011, at a time when the number of sheds (or proto-sheds) in Ireland was still firmly in double figures.
However, some sheds have deeper roots than others, roots that predate the establishment of the IMSA. One such shed is Tipperary Men’s Shed, based at Knockanrawley Resource Centre in Tipperary Town.
The shed styles itself as Ireland’s original and first men’s shed, and glories in the official IMSA identification number of 001. The documentary evidence certainly appears to weigh the case in the shed’s favour; the earliest reference to a men’s shed in an Irish newspaper dates from almost exactly a decade ago.
On 6 August, The Nationalist carried a brief announcement of a preliminary meeting to explore the feasibility of establishing a men’s shed in Tipperary town. The shed is currently organising a celebration of a decade enhancing lives and community in Tipperary town – a phenomenal achievement in any circumstances.
However, we are well aware of whispers from Co Waterford, Co Louth and elsewhere that the title of Ireland’s first shed may well be contested. If you can date your local shed to 2009 or earlier, we’d love to give your shed its due. Please send any and all tips to turlough@menssheds.ie and we’ll save them for posterity.