Shed of the Week: Donegal Town Men's Shed

Donegal Town Men’s Shed was set up two years ago in a room in the Family Resource Centre. “Five people turned up, sat down and chatted, then word was put out,” shed chair Eddie Mulligan explains. Now the shed has 24 male members and eight female members.

There is a French baker next door to the shed and he often drops in bread for the members to eat. “He’s very good to us. We never go hungry,” says Eddie.

Eddie says that the shed is an eco-friendly shed, with the water heated by solar panels. The next step is to store the electricity so that they can potentially sell it back and earn money for the shed.

“The work inside the shed was done by ourselves,” says Eddie. There is a computer room in the shed with four computers. These can be used to research family history and to learn the basics of computers. The shed also has an art room where six-week block art classes are held for beginners and intermediates.

A ladies art classes will start too because the classes have attracted much interest. An old demo kitchen was also donated to the shed. “The kitchen is an important part of this shed. We drink plenty of cups of tea.”

The shed is open for anyone, male or female, over the age of 18 years old. “It’s not just for the retired. Anyone can come in and do whatever they want.”

It’s very much for the community and it “benefits everyone”.

Members have “pride in what they do” and create many masterpieces including bird boxes and feeders, squirrel boxes and next boxes. One member has even started building a mandolin. They complete custom orders too, reusing wood from pallets where they can or buy the wood and ask for a donation.

The shed is open five days a week and they are always open to new members. For more information contact Eddie on 086-350 5446.

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