Rapidly growing Men’s Sheds movement gives hope to thousands across country

RÓISÍN O’HARA

THE 3,000 members who regularly attend the growing phenomenon of the Men’s Sheds organisation show a big improvement in health and wellbeing, according to a new survey.

The “Sheds” community is a voluntary group where ordinary men meet to talk, share experiences and work on common projects. There are now more than 300 “Sheds” across the country.

The research, which is to be published later this month by the Netwell Centre at the Dundalk Institute of Technology, shows that men who visited sheds regularly had better personal and domestic lives.

The author of the research, Dr Lucia Carragher of the Dundalk Institute of Technology’s School of Health and Science, found that men who attended the sheds felt happier at home, 97pc felt better about themselves, 88pc said they had access to health information and 74pc had improved home lives as a result of participating in the movement.

The results of the study – carried out between May 2012 and January of this year and involved 445 questionnaires distributed to 52 sheds – also “highlight the fundamental human need to belong, indicating that for 95per cent of participants, the shed is a place of belonging”.

The findings also highlight that community based men’s sheds serve to foster social cohesion in a number of important ways – 98pc of men reported that they made new friends.

One man said: “It’s a totally different sort of meeting of men than you would normally have. You would normally meet your men friends in a pub situation so there would be alcohol more than likely. This is all sober. Everybody is as they are, it’s totally real.”

A men’s shed, as described by the Irish Men’s Sheds Association, is any community-based, non-commercial organisation which is open to all men where the primary activity is the provision of a safe, friendly and inclusive environment where the men are able to gather and/or work on meaningful projects at their own pace, in their own time and in the company of other men. The primary objective is to advance the health and well-being of the participating men’.

The development of men’s sheds is a recent grassroots phenomenon which started in Australia in the mid-1990s and spread rapidly and very recently to other countries, including New Zealand, Canada, and the UK, where it continues to grow, but nowhere as rapidly as in Ireland.

Dr Carragher says that as a concept there is nothing remarkable about men meeting informally. “In Ireland, men have long gathered together in clubs and pubs as well as after church on a Sunday and at football matches to talk and to share ideas and discuss life in general. But combining this social chat with ‘men’s work’ ― manual work that involves fixing, building and repairing ― is a new idea and the strength with which the concept has developed in Ireland is quite remarkable.”

The first men’s shed opened in Tipperary in 2009 and has now grown to more than 3,000 members. Dr Carragher says it is difficult to say how much of this growth has been spurred on by the recession, but accepts that it undoubtedly is a factor, particularly given the collapse in the housing sector which left thousands of manual workers unemployed.

The survey, the first of its kind in Ireland with participants drawn from across the island, show that the age of the men attracted to the sheds varied, with 29pc aged 49 or younger, but membership largely comprised of older men: 70pc were over 50 years of age, and just over half were already in receipt of some type of pension.

With 30pc having acquired education to diploma level or above, the men generally come from different socio-economic backgrounds.

There is evidence also of recent, significant and difficult changes experienced by older men with regard to health, relationships and employment. Within the past five years, 33pc of respondents had experienced retirement, over a quarter (26pc) had experienced a major health crisis, 14pc experienced a new impairment or disability, 41pc had experienced unemployment and a further 13per cent experienced difficulties with their business or job. Nearly one quarter (23pc) of respondents indicated that they had experienced depression in the past five years.

One of the most significant findings of the study is the men’s view on learning, and their eagerness to further their skills.

A staggering 95pc indicated that belonging to a men’s shed helped them learn, and over three quarters were eager to access further learning opportunities in the shed, with 67pc saying that opportunities for learning elsewhere in the community were limited.

In terms of education, the majority (41pc) have a primary or secondary level education, but 20pc have a technical or vocational qualification. This is higher than the general population, reflecting the higher concentration of tradesmen in sheds; 45pc identified themselves as a current or former qualified tradesman. Just 13pc attained a primary degree or above.

Tellingly, while just one third reported having a positive educational experience in school, over three-quarters of those participating in sheds are keen to access more learning opportunities. For most, the preferred way to learn, centre around practical situations and working with their hands ― mending, fixing, building, repairing ― in a group with largely, but not exclusively, other men. Other learning preferences expressed by men were wide ranging, and reflected a hunger for learning which was common in all sheds.

While some of the preferences appear to suggest an inclination towards formal education, when asked how and where they would prefer to avail of these learning opportunities, the majority said they would prefer to learn from another member of the men’s shed with the appropriate skills.

Dr Carragher says there is a strong case for some government support for the Irish Men’s Sheds Association without breaking the essential grassroots connections to and between sheds.

“Having a national representative body to ensure that sheds are listened to is vital and the IMSA must continue to speak on sheds’ behalf in public debates and on policy that will affect men’s lives. This is important for all sheds, regardless of their size, but it is particularly important for the countless small sheds spread across country, many of whom are underfunded and whose future is uncertain.”

She adds that the findings from this research point to a wide range of support needs of sheds and to a wide range of benefits to the men who participate in sheds, their families and the wider community. “As our findings highlight, participants of men’s sheds engaged in learning, acquiring many new skills through their involvement. It is of the upmost importance that this is not just seen in relation to employment prospects, but for its contribution to the development of mental capital and wellbeing to help individuals deal with difficult life transitions and for society and communities to address the challenges of inevitable changes in the years ahead.

“Given the changing demographics towards a growing older population, the importance of finding effective ways to promote well-being in older age has never been greater.”

John Evoy, CEO of The Irish Men’s Shed Association, said he was delighted the report was completed, adding that “now we have the empirical data that proves what we already know in terms of how important the sheds are becoming to the men of Ireland”.

• Roisin O’Hara is a freelance video journalist who runs the Ireland Reporter website at http://irelandreporter.com/ where you can find alternative people-centred news videos

That’s what County Galway man, Oliver Williams, told me when I went to make a short film of the soup kitchen he set up in Galway city.  The former businessman said he saw a dire need to help the hungry of Galway, and he decided to fund ‘Twist’ himself.

Now, 3 months on, it caters for up to 100 people a day, and, according to Williams, these numbers will grow.  He has already set up 2 more soup kitchens in other locations in Ireland, and there are plans for a third.   He says they depend solely on volunteers, and donations from local businesses.

It is a sign of our times, says Oliver, and with the rate of unemployment currently at 14.8% (the 4th highest in Europe), deprivation rate at 22%, and 20% of lone parents at risk of poverty*, it is clearly a service in demand.

Thank you to all who took part
 

(*Central Statistics Offices)
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Video: Film-maker reveals Ireland’s new poor relying on soup kitchens

Garreth Murphy – 18 January 2013

“IF you’re sick you go to the doctor, if you’re hungry you go to Twist,” says Oliver Williams, the founder of Twist soup kitchen in Galway City. His charity kitchen and its regulars is the subject of Róisín O’Hara’s arresting short film, Feeding the Hungry.

Armed with only her camera, O’Hara, a former RTE video journalist, interviewed some of the kitchen’s regulars. Their stories were all depressingly familiar – people who lost their jobs and homes when the Celtic Tiger went belly up and people who were on the margins of society.

“I wanted to do an intimate journal of stories of people who found themselves by the wayside – for whatever reason,” says O’Hara. “In my experience, people want to tell their stories but a lot of the time they think that nobody wants to listen. I found that because it was just me on with my camera, they were more inclined to do that.”

The interviews make for stark viewing. With Twist catering for up to 100 people a day, O’Hara was surprised at the cross section of people availing of its resources.

“There was any number of people there – everyone from women with young kids to men who were in their 30s and 40s. They were the sort of people who you’d never expect to see at a facility like this. They’re the new poor – the people who just can’t afford to eat.”

The reaction to the video has been positive so far.

“I’ve only had it up a few days but there’s been a lot of interest in it. Friends have told me that they’ll get their kids to watch it. Oliver Williams doesn’t get any state funding for Twist so if it brings some awareness to his work, that’d be great. It’s shocking that he thinks every city in Ireland will need one of these kitchens.”

O’Hara plans to continue working on intimate video pieces for her website Irelandreporter.com

“I feel there is an appetite for these types of stories, which tell the stories ‘behind the news’ and put faces to the statistics.”

There are few homes in Ireland not affected by emigration once again.

I went to the departures area in Terminal 2 to talk to a few of Ireland’s new emigrants setting off on their new life.  The staff member on duty assured me that I would not have a problem spotting them as they are usually accompanied by an entourage of well-wishers few of whom are dry-eyed.

Sure enough, I witnessed many tears as families were torn apart.

This is my film.  A huge thank you to all those who were willing to allow me to film what was, for many, a very intimate and painful experience.

In this report, which got top story/headline story on the RTÉ Six One News on the 10th of May 2005, we look at the plight of one man who believes it’s “all in God’s hands”…..
Filmed & Edited: Róisín Ní Eadhra

I spent a few days in London filming some of the work of the Irish emigrant services outreach workers, and made a half hour special programme for RTÉ’s Nationwide, broadcast on 20th June 2005.
Here are a few clips from the programme.

At a microscopic level, this piece shows the influence that the surge in immigration from former Russian states in the early/mid 2000s had an Irish society.

It was broadcast on RTÉ’s Nationwide programme, on the 7th June 2005.
Shot and Edited by Róisín O’Hara

It was to prove a poignant visit back in time, that reaffirmed for her the importance of her work today.
This was broadcast on RTÉ’s Nationwide programme on the 5th December 2007.
Filmed and edited by Róisín O’Hara

This report was one of a series of three that was broadcast on RTÉ’s Six-One News.

Report: Róisín O’Hara
Camera: Johnny Saunderson