Rural rejuvenation is a hot topic in contemporary Irish society. Beneath the winding streets, handsome facades and wild landscapes of rural Ireland lies a rich seam of knowledge and experience.

Many of the local industries that once sustained Ireland’s towns and villages have fallen by the wayside in recent years. Traditional crafts and skills, passed down the generations, have been crowded out by the relentless pace of economic change.

Nestled in the crook of Counties Meath, Westmeath and Kildare, the town of Edenderry, Co Offaly, has changed beyond all recognition in recent decades. The rhythms of life in this midlands town were once dictated by long-departed industries, such as the railways and peat production.

The traditional midland crafts of the wheelwright and the carriage-maker have also largely disappeared, swept ruthlessly from the map by rapid advances in technology. But in one corner of Edenderry, these traditional skills are being rekindled and preserved for future generations.

Like most of its counterparts across the island, Edenderry Men’s Shed draws its membership from all age groups and backgrounds. Nonetheless, many of the shed’s members belong to a generation steeped in the region’s historic traditions of craftsmanship.

Michael Mallin of Edenderry Men’s Shed recently dropped in to Irish Men’s Sheds Association HQ in Dublin, to fill us in on an inspirational project taking shape in the shed.

“It’s been going on for over a year now. A local man came in with a crate containing a vintage four-wheel carriage. It’s over 100 years old, and when it came to us, it was completely disassembled,” says Michael.

Shed member Dick Glennon, a former wheelwright from Castlejordan, has been the driving force behind the project. The shed members have also been able to call upon the expertise of comrade-in-arms Tom O’Toole, whose father, Stephen, was a world-famous craftsman.

“When we started, the carriage was a pile of wood in the corner,” says Michael. “No one knew what it would have looked like back in the day.” The project was a truly collective effort. “Everyone lent a hand. The felloes, spokes and wheels all had to be repaired or replaced. It was magical to see it take shape in the shed over such a long period.”

Once completed, the carriage will be returned to the donor, who plans to use it as a centrepiece for his daughter’s wedding next year. The carriage is far from the only object of local historical interest donated to the shed.

“A man brought in a set of furniture that had belonged to his great-grandfather recently. We also restored a grandfather clock from the Old Cottage Hospital, which was preserved by the matron of Ofalia House in Edenderry. It’s now hanging in the main hall,” he says.

Situated in the spacious old railway shed, Edenderry Men’s Shed enjoys the support of landowner Sean Norman, a former musician now in his 80s, who lives in the old railway cottage.

Like so many others throughout rural Ireland, the shed is a perfect synthesis of a new social concept with a region’s historical traditions. CL