In attendance were representatives from:
Ballincollig, Bandon, Blarney, Carrigaline, Carrigtoohil, Charleville, Cobh, Kanturk, Newmarket.
Guided tours of the Youthreach premises were provided and the shedders were shown items made by the Mallow shed.
The meeting began at 8pm with Paudy, the Mallow secretary, welcoming those who travelled and especially shedders from the newly formed sheds.
Each shed was then invited to give a brief rundown of their current situation
Bandon: Tom told us they are in existence since late spring 2013. They have made bird feeders and other woodwork items to raise funds. They produced a calendar which they sold for €5 each and made €2000. They kindly presented a copy to the Mallow shed.
Blarney: Donal told us they open from 10-1pm on Wednesdays and have about 12 attendees. Their premises is the local Community Association Hall which they painted and installed new windows. They are busy restoring a horse dray cart. They have done some VEC sponsored classes and would like to have younger men join them. They put an ad in a local magazine to let people know about them.
Carrigaline: Barry told us they were the 30th shed to be created, they have 50 members and plan to have their AGM next week. They are open 6 days a week from 10-4pm. They had a visit from a mentor from SECAD with whom they discussed where they would be in 2020. Their hope is to have 2 acres of land, 200 members and to develop outside facilities. Barry informed us of grants they had received and also that the shed started with €200 loans given to the shed by members. They also have a €25 membership fee. He finished by inviting shedders to call to see them in Carrigaline.
Ballincollig: Paddy told us they have four members which are the steering committee. They meet on Tuesday afternoons. They have no premises or money but are in contact with a local councillor who is making enquiries on their behalf.
Carrigtoohil: Peter told us they have moved into their new shed which they funded by doing a sponsored climb of Carrauntoohil and raised €4000. They plan to undertake the restoration of a 1953 Austin Hampshire. They have 8 members and hope to encourage new members in the coming months.
Charleville: Pat told us they are 12 months old and are based in the St Vincent de Paul offices which they have had rent free up to now. They are now expected to pay €100 a month and may need to leave in 3 months time so they are looking for new premises. They have been busy making bird boxes for the local Tidy Towns group and have 18 members, 12 of which are active. They are unusual in that they have members from across the border in Limerick also. They took part in a nativity play / pagent last Christmas.
Cobh: Malcolm told us about their walled Victorian garden project, their polytunnel and allotment where they grew potatoes last year. They are currently building bird boxes to raise funds and sell them at a local craft fair. They had misfortune during the recent storms when the roof of their shed was blown off so they will be busy repairing it. They share the premises with the youth centre which is rent free. They have low membership and have produced a leaflet to help boost numbers. They have just received a community grant from Cork County Council
Newmarket: We learned they have two portacabins and are busy fitting out their new one which is split into a social area and a workshop area. They meet on Tuesday mornings and make window boxes and bird boxes. They have started a self organised computer course and would like to get new ideas about fund raising, projects and recruiting members. They have had roof issues as well but just a small leak.
Kanturk: Eddie told us that he and his colleague John Fuller, who are both members of the community council, hope to start a shed and they had received some great ideas from the meeting and the people they had spoken to beforehand.
The meeting continued with a general discussion with various ideas and topics raised.
· The question was asked how the cluster meeting was organised. Bandon said they found out about it through Facebook. Paudy said he contacted sheds by Facebook, email and text. It was suggested that the ‘mensshed.ie’ email addresses may not be read as frequently as personal email accounts and this may be a reason why some sheds had not responded or attended the meetings.
· Bandon asked about lottery funding and were told it can be accessed through the HSE.
· Bandon asked the question of Charleville if they had received monies from an order of nun’s in Cork called the Sister’s of Mercy, which they did. This is a possible avenue for funding that should be explored by other sheds.
· The Marie Keating Foundation was suggested as a good source of health information and possibly a talk on health matters.
· Carrigaline told us about the Lidl sponsorship they receive and Mallow described a similar scheme they receive.
· A Men’s Shed discount card and a shed shop were suggested as means to make and save money. McQuillans tools were mentioned as a trader who offer 5% on purchases made for a Men’s Shed.
· The most common concerns raised were access to information regarding funding and recruiting new members.
The next County Cork Men’s shed meeting will be held in Bandon on March 27th.
The meeting ended at 9pm with food and refreshments being served which were made on site by the Mallow Shed Cooks.
It was agreed that Paudy would send minutes of this meeting to all sheds and information about funding and access to services would be put on the Mallow Men’s Shed website for all to see, www.lecheilemallowmensshed.weebly.com.
Ballincollig, Bandon, Blarney, Carrigaline, Carrigtoohil, Charleville, Cobh, Kanturk, Newmarket.
Guided tours of the Youthreach premises were provided and the shedders were shown items made by the Mallow shed.
The meeting began at 8pm with Paudy, the Mallow secretary, welcoming those who travelled and especially shedders from the newly formed sheds.
Each shed was then invited to give a brief rundown of their current situation
Bandon: Tom told us they are in existence since late spring 2013. They have made bird feeders and other woodwork items to raise funds. They produced a calendar which they sold for €5 each and made €2000. They kindly presented a copy to the Mallow shed.
Blarney: Donal told us they open from 10-1pm on Wednesdays and have about 12 attendees. Their premises is the local Community Association Hall which they painted and installed new windows. They are busy restoring a horse dray cart. They have done some VEC sponsored classes and would like to have younger men join them. They put an ad in a local magazine to let people know about them.
Carrigaline: Barry told us they were the 30th shed to be created, they have 50 members and plan to have their AGM next week. They are open 6 days a week from 10-4pm. They had a visit from a mentor from SECAD with whom they discussed where they would be in 2020. Their hope is to have 2 acres of land, 200 members and to develop outside facilities. Barry informed us of grants they had received and also that the shed started with €200 loans given to the shed by members. They also have a €25 membership fee. He finished by inviting shedders to call to see them in Carrigaline.
Ballincollig: Paddy told us they have four members which are the steering committee. They meet on Tuesday afternoons. They have no premises or money but are in contact with a local councillor who is making enquiries on their behalf.
Carrigtoohil: Peter told us they have moved into their new shed which they funded by doing a sponsored climb of Carrauntoohil and raised €4000. They plan to undertake the restoration of a 1953 Austin Hampshire. They have 8 members and hope to encourage new members in the coming months.
Charleville: Pat told us they are 12 months old and are based in the St Vincent de Paul offices which they have had rent free up to now. They are now expected to pay €100 a month and may need to leave in 3 months time so they are looking for new premises. They have been busy making bird boxes for the local Tidy Towns group and have 18 members, 12 of which are active. They are unusual in that they have members from across the border in Limerick also. They took part in a nativity play / pagent last Christmas.
Cobh: Malcolm told us about their walled Victorian garden project, their polytunnel and allotment where they grew potatoes last year. They are currently building bird boxes to raise funds and sell them at a local craft fair. They had misfortune during the recent storms when the roof of their shed was blown off so they will be busy repairing it. They share the premises with the youth centre which is rent free. They have low membership and have produced a leaflet to help boost numbers. They have just received a community grant from Cork County Council
Newmarket: We learned they have two portacabins and are busy fitting out their new one which is split into a social area and a workshop area. They meet on Tuesday mornings and make window boxes and bird boxes. They have started a self organised computer course and would like to get new ideas about fund raising, projects and recruiting members. They have had roof issues as well but just a small leak.
Kanturk: Eddie told us that he and his colleague John Fuller, who are both members of the community council, hope to start a shed and they had received some great ideas from the meeting and the people they had spoken to beforehand.
The meeting continued with a general discussion with various ideas and topics raised.
· The question was asked how the cluster meeting was organised. Bandon said they found out about it through Facebook. Paudy said he contacted sheds by Facebook, email and text. It was suggested that the ‘mensshed.ie’ email addresses may not be read as frequently as personal email accounts and this may be a reason why some sheds had not responded or attended the meetings.
· Bandon asked about lottery funding and were told it can be accessed through the HSE.
· Bandon asked the question of Charleville if they had received monies from an order of nun’s in Cork called the Sister’s of Mercy, which they did. This is a possible avenue for funding that should be explored by other sheds.
· The Marie Keating Foundation was suggested as a good source of health information and possibly a talk on health matters.
· Carrigaline told us about the Lidl sponsorship they receive and Mallow described a similar scheme they receive.
· A Men’s Shed discount card and a shed shop were suggested as means to make and save money. McQuillans tools were mentioned as a trader who offer 5% on purchases made for a Men’s Shed.
· The most common concerns raised were access to information regarding funding and recruiting new members.
The next County Cork Men’s shed meeting will be held in Bandon on March 27th.
The meeting ended at 9pm with food and refreshments being served which were made on site by the Mallow Shed Cooks.
It was agreed that Paudy would send minutes of this meeting to all sheds and information about funding and access to services would be put on the Mallow Men’s Shed website for all to see, www.lecheilemallowmensshed.weebly.com.