The idea of a men’s shed in Portlaoise was born in 2012 at a meeting between Ray Harte (now secretary of the shed) and the late Councillor Jerry Lodge.
Since 2013 they have been based at Portlaoise Equestrian Centre, kindly accommodated by the Sheehan family.
Since then Portlaoise Men’s Shed has been actively involved in environmental projects.
These include: setting up of a community garden and working with other like minded groups like Abbeyleix Bog, Mountmellick Environmental Group, Irish Wildlife Trust, Birdwatch Ireland, Bat Conservation Ireland, Tidy Towns, Camross parish development group, Laois County Council and Youth Work Ireland Laois.
Their projects have included Water conservation, Wildlife conservation, community gardening, citizen science, River cleanups and indeed a lot of community projects including bird box builds with younger children, mud kitchens for childcare facilities round the county, buddy benches for schools.
They have worked alongside suicide prevention organisations, undertaken playground painting and refurbishment with Laois County Council and recently completed a project with children from the Portlaoise Ukrainian community building bird boxes.
They secured national coverage in conjunction with Laois County council heritage office with their 1916 centenary first shots reenactment project at Stradbally woodland railway highlighting county Laois’s involvement in the 1916 rising.
Even with all this activity they continue to do what sheds do best which is providing an informal social hub for men of all ages where they can meet chat, drink tea, tell stories, and share skills.
Members also play snooker, do gardening, learn woodworking skills, get involved in exercise programmes, make music, make new friends and benefit from all of this by combating isolation and exclusion.
Pride of place is the model train track, pictured below.
Cllr Thomasina Connell visited the Shed this week and wished those involved every best wish for the next 10 years.
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