After a few false dawns, Waterford city will soon have its own Men’s Shed, following five months of hard graft on behalf of two men who were determined to provide a new space for men aged 18 and upwards.
Speaking to The Munster Express at the St Saviours AFC Clubhouse on Wednesday last, Jim Frisby and Willie Moore said they were thrilled to have the support of Martin and Mattie O’Shea of Waterford Transport in securing a premises.
“Back in the second week of January, I got a phone call from Ballybeg Community Development telling me that there was a man called Jim Frisby looking for me,” began Willie Moore.
“I didn’t know who Jim was at the time and to be honest with you, my first thought was to tell Jim I just didn’t have the time to give him a hand in trying to set up a Men’s Shed here in the city.”
He added: “But I gave it a second thought and went down to meet Jim and he told me how interested he was in setting up a Men’s Shed, so we got talking about it and I told him there was a Councillor I knew – Jason Murphy – whom I felt would be interested in trying to move this idea on a bit so I asked Jim would he mind if I’d give Jason a ring. He didn’t, so I got in touch with Jason, and we then made an arrangement to meet for a coffee up in the Costa in Lisduggan on a Monday morning nearly four months ago. Jim had tried to set up a Men’s Shed previously but he was really determined to see it through this time.”
Jim Frisby added: “I have to give an awful lot of thanks to Martin and Mattie O’Shea. Without their support, we would be still looking for a premises today. Martin and Mattie came on board and helped us to look for a suitable place all around Waterford and initially we couldn’t find anything. Then one particular evening, Martin brought me out to a building near the Six Cross Roads and he said ‘this is your building, lads if ye want it’. So straight away, I called a meeting with a few lads that I knew were interested in getting involved and we went out and had a look at it and our jaws nearly hit the floor when we saw the size of this building and the condition it was in. We couldn’t believe it! It has massive potential for our Men’s Shed, which will officially be called ‘Deise Men’s Shed Waterford’.”
He continued: “So we’ve had a few meetings already, we’ll be having a few more and we’ll be putting out the call to as many organisations as we can think of to let them know about this fantastic new space we’re going to have, be it for woodwork, metalwork, a whole host of other projects, or for anyone who wants a ‘safe space’, a place to come and get a meal, have a cup of tea, a game of pool or darts, this is what we’re going to put in place once we’ve got the keys of the building and then we can give a bit more thought to what we’re going to do and how we’re going to provide a new centre for men aged 18 and upwards to come together, be it for the social element or for some projects in which we’d hope men, especially retired tradesmen, might come together and help out other voluntary organisations in the city. It’s a very exciting time and I am so thankful for what Martin and Mattie O’Shea have done for us. I cannot thank them both enough.”
So what does a Men’s Shed do? “Basically,” said Jim, “It’s for any man over 18 and the idea is to provide men with a space where they can come together, have a cup of tea, a bit of banter, get involved in community projects, start up projects that they’re interested in taking on themselves and to help each other out along the way. We have many members who are retired professional people who will bring their trade skills to the shed. We’ve already got several groups ready to come on board with us – I’m talking about Spraoi, the Irish Wheelchair Association, the Waterford Stroke Support Group and Waterford Cheshire – they’ve all written letters to me, committing their full support to attending the Men’s Shed with their members once we’ve got the doors open.”
Bishop of Waterford & Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, also attended last Wednesday’s meeting and congratulated Jim and Willie for their endeavour in getting this idea off the ground. “Anything that brings people together and engenders a sense of belonging and community the way the Men’s Shed movement does can only be viewed in positive terms,” he said. “I’d like to wish you every good wish and to congratulate in obtaining a building and if I can assist your future efforts in any way, I would be more than happy to do so.”
Willie Moore felt it was important to have a building in place in advance of any wholesale broadcasting of the new venture. And with both paid newspapers and WLR now on board to promote the Deise Men’s Shed, this ought to make getting the word out about the new service a whole lot easier.
“Within the next week or so, we’ll have the premises and I’m so delighted that Jim rang me, because how badly needed this is. This is another good news story for the city and I’m delighted to be a part of this.”
Cllr Jason Murphy (FF) said he was “delighted” that the Deise Men’s Shed would soon be up and running.
“I’m particularly delighted that it’s going to be based in Ward South, especially when you think about the local authority houses out here -probably 1200 in Ballybeg, 300 in Larchville, 400 in Lisduggan and then of course you’ve the private houses in Lismore Park and the other local estates. There’s a huge need for it here.”
Cllr Murphy added: “I didn’t know a huge amount about Men’s Shed until relatively recently but I have to say it’s a great concept. Culture is changing in Ireland and there are lots of issues in relation to isolation that apply to living in a housing estate as much as it does for a man living down a narrow country lane. This is going to give men in Ward South and right across the city a social outlet they never had before.”
Jim Frisby who has been beavering away over the past five months to see a Men's Shed in Waterford put in place. A building at the Six Cross Roads has been welcomingly secured.