A brand new Men's Shed has been set up in Beaumont.
The new Shed, set up in association with the local GAA club, Whitehall Colmcilles, will encourage socialisation between local men and to give them a space to meet up weekly.
Beaumont man Sean said it was his son in law who brought it to his attention that the area was thinking about setting up a Men's Shed. He explained how his son in law is a trainer at the GAA club and showed him an article which was published locally about the areas interest in setting one up.
Sean told Dublin Live: "There was going to be a meeting in four weeks about the possibility of a Men's Shed in the area so 16 people in total including myself turned up to the meeting and we just began brainstorming all of the different things that the Men's Shed could be."
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He says that it went from there and the most important thing for him was the social aspect of the shed. He said: "The main aspect is the socialisation. There are a lot of older people who have not been out and about since the pandemic, and this is a place for them to connect with other people in a relaxed environment."
He says that the local GAA club has been instrumental in setting up the shed over the last couple of weeks. Sean said: "Diarn O Neill is the secretary for the GAA club and he has been an extremely important part of the first steps of the Men's Shed. No is not in his vocabulary and he just get everything done."
Currently the group meet every Wednesday at 11am on the GAA club's premises in the clubhouse in Collins Avenue, but Sean added that: "The beautiful thing about the GAA is that they have made the facility open 5 days a week for anyone to use.
"Our premises are free because the GAA have agreed to pay insurance costs and we are currently waiting for a registration number."
In terms of what activities occur in the Men's Shed, Sean said it is a relaxed environment with no real schedule and everyone can do what suits them best or organise to different things during the week. He said: "Some of the lads may want to start going on more walks so they'll ask if anyone is up for organising it during the week, some like to do woodwork or go fishing and the Men's Shed provides a space for them to be able to ask others who they think would be interested.
"I know there was a history trip to Glasnevin cemetery organised a few weeks back so there's something for everyone and if you want to come and just play pool, have a cuppa and a chinwag that's grand too."
Speaking about the social aspect of the shed, Sean said it's great to know that people have a weekly meet up they can go to that doesn't involve any effort in organising something specific. He said: "It's just for the craic not for any reason. It's lovely for someone to think I'll go to the Men's Shed on Wednesday morning and I'll meet some of the lads, especially for people living on their own."
Sean added that the Men's Shed is for men of all ages and there's no age restrictions of who can join, even though the majority of its members are in the upper age bracket. He said: "The shed is great for people who maybe have been widowed, live alone or are retired and find themselves with some times on their hands but it's not a lonely hearts club and any men of any age can join."
As the shed is only in the beginning stages Sean said they are going to wait and see over time what works for their members and find their own natural rhythm. If you would like to get involved in the Men's Shed, you can contact Sean on 087 2891284.
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