Martin says Men's Shed can help ease pain of recession

 

Mullaghmeen outside Castlepollard is renowned for being home to one of the finest forests in western Europe, but community activist Martin Smyth is hopeful that it could soon become known for having the first Men’s Shed in north Westmeath.

Originating in Australia, the Men’s Shed movement provides a meeting place and an outlet for males while working on different projects. Since 2011, more than 120 Men’s Sheds groups have been established across the country, and the Irish Men’s Shed Association has been praised for providing a social outlet for men who have fallen victim to the recession.

As a former chairman of Rural Link, Martin knows better than most the effect the downturn has had on areas such as north Westmeath and believes that a Men’s Shed could be of real benefit to a community such as his.

“Times have changed,” he says. “There was a time here when the building was going well and it was great for rural people because they were all employed in it.
“A lot of people who have made a commitment to rural Ireland, to live in it and build a house and get mortgages in it, and they are actually stranded now at the moment and there’s not much sign of a way out.

“At the present time people are maybe confined to the house a lot, and it’s an opportunity to get out there and express their feelings and listen to other people. Maybe they can gain something from that.”

Initially Martin intends to run the Mullaghmeen branch of the movement from his own tidy shed. Well stocked with tools and a stove to provide heat and the all important cups of tea, the shed has been an informal meeting place for Martin’s neighbours and friends for years.

“People come and ceili and we’d light the fire and have a chat and do little bits of tricking. You’d often have four or five,” he says.

While he is still in the planning phase, Martin has already earmarked a number of projects for the group when it is up and running.

“We have a single stroke Honda 50 from the 1960s and a 1947 Ferguson TVO 6-volt to look at as well, they are a fairly rare item in this country. It’s something to do. Apart from that we would be very interested in getting people for the social aspect. Come and have a chat maybe go for a walk up the woods, if they want, if they don’t want they can go and have a game of cards.

“Talking is very important as well. There’s no such thing as a top table, everyone is at the same level. There’s people that might be afraid of being questioned through a chairperson - that’s not the case. Hopefully it will work out for the benefit of some people.”

Martin hopes that the Men’s Shed will attract men of different age groups and skills. It will initially meet in his home shed once a week for a couple of hours, but he says that if there is enough interest he will look at moving the group to a facility in Castlepollard. Judging from the feedback he has received so far from friends and neighbours, he believes that it has a lot of potential.

“Women have the ICA and they are a massive organisation and they do great things, why can men not do it.”

For more information on Mullaghmeen Men’s Shed contact Martin on 087 8152856 or email mullaghmeen@menssheds.ie.