“The shed was established about five years ago,” says assistant treasurer, John Brodie of Virgina Men’s Shed. “One of our founding members, Gerry, had to have a heart transplant before the shed started, which required a long waiting period. During this time, one of the ideas that kept Gerry going was planning how he would organise the running of a polytunnel.”

Following his heart transplant, friends rallied together to make Gerry’s idea become a reality and, with the help of Virginia Genoval Show Society, Virginia Men’s Shed was established.

The social set-up, situated in Co Cavan, has its very own polytunnel, which is overseen by Gerry, and the generosity of the shedders has changed the lives of those less fortunate, following their kind donation to the Chernobyl charity.

“We do wood working and have done a lot of charitable work. We made benches for the community and, since starting the shed, we have sent a total of 110 reconditioned Zimmer frames to Chernobyl.

“We also raised money, together with the Show Society, for a defibrillator, which is now in place in the show centre,” explains John.

“We ran two very successful cookery courses, the last one finished just before Christmas, and we were able to have a full dinner. It was a great day.”

When they are not busy with various activities, the men love to get out and about and have visited various locations over the years.

“We have been to the Hop Store for a pint, we visited Enniskillen Shed and went on a boat trip, we also had a very interesting visit to Loughan House open prison near Blacklion.”

The shedders meet in Virginia Show centre on Wednesdays from 7:30pm to 10:30pm and on Fridays from 11am to 1pm. New members are always welcome and tea and coffee is available in abundance.

If you would like more information on Virginia Men’s Shed, contact John Brodie on 0877 819 828.