"It takes all different skills to run a shed"

By Róisin McManus

Ascending the stairs to the top floor of the Belturbet Railway Station, indistinct chatter and murmurs become clear as a conversation about upcoming projects among members of the Belturbet & District Men’s Shed.

Sun beams illuminate the attic room when the Celt visits on a peaceful Friday morning while some of the Belturbet ‘shedders’ fine tune the details of an application for cross-border funding for a project in conjunction with the Enniskillen Men’s Shed.

“We’re all in the Ulster community,” explains treasurer Michael Gorman, adding that “we have more in common” than not.

Cultural trips and wellness sessions are among the ideas thrown onto the centre of a wooden table, already laden down with several mugs of steaming tea. The bustle from the adjacent kitchen, where their wee kly Friday lunch is being prepared, form the backdrop to the conversation.

Since the group was first established in October 2015, the men have been involved in several community projects and other initiatives working with other sheds and their counterparts in the Belturbet Hens’ Shed. The group has some female ‘associate members’ who take part in their courses.

The shed’s premises are part of the old Belturbet Railway Station. As you enter the historic building, you walk straight into their workshop, which doubles as a classroom for the delivery of various courses.

In a nook underneath the stairs, one of the youngest shedders, 19-year-old Sean Smith is honing his craft of tinsmithing.

On the ground floor to the right of the workshop, there is another workspace where members are restoring windows from an old Georgian house across the border. Projects like this, where members can work freely at their own pace, are an integral part of the shed’s structure.

“The day it becomes a job, people stop enjoying it,” Michael explains.

This is one of many examples of work the shed has been involved with locally.

The group was originally named the Belturbet Men’s Shed but has since grown to become the Belturbet & District Men’s Shed in recognition of their extended membership drawn from across west Cavan, stretching from Belturbet to Swanlinbar, and reaching into south Fermanagh.

Members from 18-90

The group has around 70 active members. Members’ nationalities include Irish, British, Dutch, Polish, Jordanian and Ukrainian, and they believe they have one of the youngest age profiles of any Irish shed with members ranging from 18 up to 90 years of age.

The shed is open seven days per week, they are non-political, non-religious and they do not tolerate bullying. There is an annual membership fee of €30 and members are asked to contribute towards Friday lunches and to an honesty box each day they attend.

The aim of the shed, Michael says, is to ease isolation among men and teach them new skills.

“To keep men involved and help the broader community,” he surmises.

“Nearly everything we do is around keeping men occupied, helping them stay healthy and mobile and in touch with each other.”

Health promotion

By promoting activities for good health, Michael believes the wider Men’s Shed movement is saving money by keeping people out of the health service.

The group arranges swimming and aqua aerobics classes in the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, and are hoping to bring similar classes to the Cavan Leisure Centre towards the end of this year.

The shed receives support from Cavan County Council, and they collaborate with the Fermanagh Trust in helping to deliver community projects. They recently worked with the Trust to support the local scouts making bird feeders and squirrel boxes, and with groups including the CMETB and Cavan County Local Development (CCLD) Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) to support local organisations including local schools, the Cavan Autism Centre and Annagh Social Farm to develop a sensory garden. They also help with other one-off charitable projects organised by local residents and businesses.

Preserving history

One of the most notable projects the shed has been involved with in recent years was their 2024 collaboration with the Irish Prison Service, Loughan House, CMETB and Belturbet Heritage Railway to rebuild two shawley goods railway wagons that had been in operation from 1953 until 1987.

The wagons have become permanent exhibits in the Belturbet Heritage Railway Museum, and will serve as a clubhouse for the Men’s Shed Community Petanque Club, members of which play at the railway.

Continuing down the hall, Chair Felix Finlay’s workspace is next. He teaches woodcarving and woodturning classes.

In 2015, Felix suffered a stroke that left him with difficulties speaking. He joined the shed after moving to Belturbet in 2018, which was “absolutely great” for him.

“I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Felix praised.

Previously a potter, Felix now spends a lot of his time in the shed woodturning, making beautiful bowls. He learned from “master craftsman” Glenn Lucas in Carlow, who gave him lots of tips and confidence.

“It takes all different skills to run a shed,” Michael said.

“No one person has an exclusive on good ideas. The worst words you can have in a shed is no.”

In addition to the woodcarving and woodturning, the Shed also hosts a vast range of free adult education courses including horticulture and computers in collaboration with the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (CMETB), which also funds equipment and supplies necessary to deliver the courses. The shed also runs workshops for crafts such as welding and upcycling furniture, and will host a woodcarving summer school for 18-25 year olds this month.

Belturbet & District Men’s shed is part of the Irish Men’s Shed Association (IMSA). Across Ireland, there are 450 Men’s Sheds and at least 10,000 men visit a shed each week.

Supports

The Belturbet shedders are grateful for the support of elected representatives in the region and former Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys, and her Department, which gave €2,000 towards basic running costs in 2022. In part, as a result of lobbying by the Belturbet men, IMSA Men’s Sheds now receive an increased annual grant of up to €3,000 per shed.

In 2022, the Belturbet shed also received €25,000 in funding from the Department to build a wheelchair accessible toilet, new kitchen, fire alarm system and the installation of a container for use as a welding classroom and workshop.

That same year, the shed received support from Cavan County Council Community and Enterprise Department to install a stairlift to provide access for members with mobility issues.

In 2023, they received further funding through CCLD SICAP to provide seating, a rainwater harvesting system and shelving for the polytunnel in Belturbet Community Allotments at the railway.

The shed has also benefitted from funding from the National Lottery Good Causes and was selected as a County Finalist for Cavan in the Heritage category of their 2025 awards.

With works completed, Belturbet & District Men’s Shed was officially re-opened by Minister Humphreys on March 1, 2024; when she described the shed as a “special place.”

Felix welcomed the then minister on the occasion, when he introduced himself as a stroke survivor.

“The main part of that statement is you’re a survivor,” he recalled the Monaghan politician’s reply.

At the time, Heather Humphreys praised the Shed as “a place where people can come together” and “have that conversation”.

She added: “It all started here, so I always say to the rest of the Men’s Sheds all over the country, you owe Belturbet a debt because they kicked the ball in and they got it going.”