Hello Members,

At this stage of the corona virus lockdown the question being asked by members is, When can we reopen our shed?

We have been carefully monitoring all Government updates on controlling the spread of the virus and the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business.

Under phase 5 of the Roadmap, which comes into effect on Aug 10th the Government will allow , ‘Higher risk’ organisations which by their nature cannot easily maintain social distancing implement plans for how they can eventually progress towards onsite return of full staff complement. We believe this will allow us to begin the process of reopening our Shed.

This does not mean we will open in August. There are things that we have to do and processes we will have to implement before we can open the Shed.

• Install a hand sterilization area at the entrance to the Shed.
• Introduce a strict cleaning regime in all areas.
• Ensure social distancing measures can be adhered too.
• Ensure all Members wear face masks when attending the Shed. (based on HSE advice)
• Limit the number of people in the shed daily.
• Strictly members only policy will have to be followed.

These are just some of the measures we are looking at. We hope to open the Shed as soon as possible. However our main priority is the health and wellbeing of our members and their families and our shed will remain closed until we feel we can introduce measures to reduce the transmission of the virus and gain agreement from our members to strictly follow these measures on a daily basis . We will base all our future decisions on reopening the shed on advice from the HSE and Government .

We will update you on any further progress in the coming weeks. If you have any comments or suggestions please email paddy.gorman@live.ie        

Take Care

Paddy/Imed

 County Kildare LEADER Partnership are running a computer course in Athy starting in April. It runs for 6 weeks, 2 hours per week.  We plan to run in the CDP centre on Woodstock Street.  If you are interested in learning about using the internet and email with attachments, Microsoft Office products, and social media, then please contact Jackie on 087 9161984.

Wellness Workshop:
SOS in partnership with Suncroft Community Outreach Group and Suncroft Gaelic Football Club is hosting a Wellness Workshop on Thursday, 5th May, in the Suncroft Community Centre, Suncroft, Co. Kildare.  This is a full day workshop running from 9am – 4.30pm with lunch included.
  
The Wellness Workshop is a one day workshop that aims to help people understand and take responsibility for their own mental health.  SOS is currently running a series of workshops throughout the country which are being offered free of charge to participants, thanks to our wonderful funders the National Office of Suicide Prevention, our Donors and our Fundraisers.

Our facilitators come from very diverse backgrounds including clinical psychology, motivational speakers, lived life experiences and trained therapists.  They combine personal testimony with practical tools and tips that you can use in your everyday life to improve your own wellness.
Throughout the day the workshop will look at our thinking process, the wellness continuum, mindfulness, personality traits, and the wheel of change.  This is all done in a very interactive non-intrusive and fun way.  Areas covered on the day include relaxation and stress management, understanding the relationship between thoughts and emotions, developing a wellness toolkit and daily plan.
 
If you or anyone you know would like to attend please contact Jacqui or Lisa on 1890 577 577 to book your FREE place.  * Please note that we can only take bookings by telephone.*
 
Please feel free to share this notification with your family, friends or colleagues. 

www.suicideorsurvive.ie/

www.wellnessworkshop.ie/en/home

So along with our friends in the Kildare Nationalist newspaper we had bring entered into the Get Involved – The Sustainable Communities Initiative with our Barrow Cot project . ( Read about our project "20 Men and a boat" ) 

We did quite well , being shortlisted to the last six entries of the "Community Impact Prize" sponsored by Clann Credo and the competition is fierce , as the other shortlisted projects are also really strong 

So we are calling on your help - vote for the boat to help us get into the top three - enabling us to build more boats. 

For you , taking the time to vote for us , you will be in with a chance to win a €100 voucher towards The Wheel’s (www.wheel.ie) training courses! 

Feel free to share our post with your friends - asking them to vote for our project too 

we thought we better mark the occasion ​

The Dementia Elevator Coping Skills for Families and Carers was developed to support and educate families and carers, while caring for a person with dementia.  The programme aims to enable families and carers to recognise the emotions, goals and copingstrategies of the person with dementia. It will enable participants to develop a suite of psychosocial skills in emotional and cognitive approaches to support these, while practicing self-care.

 What are psychosocial skills?
Psychosocial skills involve ‘interactions  between people, to support cognition  (eg, thought, reason, memory), emotion, interpersonal relationships and  a sense of control”
Moniz Cooke, 2009

The programme was developed in close collaboration with a group of family carers who shared their experiences in a number of filmed interviews.

This comprehensive programme will require a total duration of approximately 4 hours to complete. However, the actual time to complete the programme can vary across users, as the content within each chapter is flexible and can be used as a stand-alone education.

The programme consists of an introduction and five chapters.  Each chapter is further subdivided into at least three sections.

This resource  is accompanied by a reflection journal guiding users to apply and reflect upon the aspects of the education relevant to their specific situation. Furthermore it aims to demonstrate practical and applicable skills through:
·  Interviews with family carers, people with dementia and professionals,

·  Video examples of using the skills in everyday situations

·  Exploration of theory of psychosocial approaches to support a person with dementia.

Access the programme here: http://elevator-carers-coping-skills.com/

Wonder how many would like to try this ?

Athy Community  Men’s Shed , a vibrant and active community group in south Kildare, have recently resurrected an age old local craft tradition that until now had sadly died away.

Barrow Cots’ were the traditional mode of transport on our local waterways.  These Cots were beautiful 18 foot long vessels that were expertly hand made by skilled crafts men and boat makers in the locality.

With the advent of motor-propelled vehicles their need was no longer necessary and the sight of gondola type boats with their captains at the helm vanished off the River Barrow.

However, as part of an initiative with local bodies, including Inland Waterways Association Ireland ( North Barrow Branch) and  Athy Community Enterprise Center, a project was undertaken to replicate one of these boats and put it back into the water.

The long term vision is to build more boats in doing so create a social and community amenity that can be enjoyed by all in the town.
There is also the possibility of creating social enterprise, a micro economy and a tourism amenity should the project extrapolate out from a single boat.

The new boat was made of a combination of salvaged cedar and hard wood from local sources. The goal was to replicate a traditional boat using as much reclaimed wood as possible. It was all hand built and hand painted.
The work was shared by the men at Athy Community Men’s Shed. It was a unique and special project that generated excitement and a high level of involvement.

So we were contacted by Margaret of the Athy Heritage Centre and Museum to see if we could get down to the Museum to help rearrange their display area 

Kudos to Udo Joe and Gerry for stepping up and getting the job done 

All that is left now is a bit of a clean up of the floor.

​We are reliably told that a quick lick of paint will be given in the next few days.

​Athy Men’s Shed , a vibrant and active community group in south Kildare have recently resurrected an age old local craft tradition that until now had sadly died away.
Barrow Cots’ were the traditional mode of transport on our local waterways.  These Cots  were beautiful 18 foot long vessels that were expertly hand made by skilled crafts men and boat makers in the locality.
With the advent of motor-propelled vehicles their need was no longer necessary and the sight of gondola type boats with their captains at the helm vanished off the barrow.
However, as part of an initiative with local bodies, including Athy Community Enterprise Centre, a project was undertaken to replicate one of these boats and put it back into the water.
The long term vision is to build more boats in doing so create a social and community amenity that can be enjoyed by all in the town.
There is also the possibility of creating social enterprise, a micro economy and a tourism amenity should the project extrapolate out from a single boat.
The new boat was made of a combination of salvaged cedar and hard wood from local sources. The goal was to replicate a traditional boat using as much reclaimed wood as possible. It was all hand built and hand painted.
The work was shared by the men at Athy Community Men’s Shed. It was a unique and special project that generated excitement and a high level of involvement.
Speaking of the shed’s involvement, David Kenny, one of the boats builders said “The project was a new and exciting challenge for us here in the shed. We had no experience of boat building in itsel;f  but we do have a group of skilled and creative guys who decided that we could study boat building and teach ourselves how to do it. I’m more than delighted to say that we succeeded”.
Another shed member, Pierce Mcloughlin explained how the project brought the men together and the benefits the men experience whilst working on the project.
“It was a huge challenge for us, but through teamwork, some trial and error, and some genuine dedication and hard work, we got it done. Working on projects such as this brings the community together, it brings people together, gives them a sense of involvement, challenge and excitement, and completing it has given all of us a huge sense of satisfaction and pride. We hope that this won’t be the last project of this sort for the town!”
The barrow cot is now ready for its official launch!

This promises to be a lovely evening for all the family and also involves 2 school choirs. Tickets€5 are available from the usual outlets The Gem ,Winkles , the Athy Lions Book shop and will be available on the door that night . Doors open at 7.30pm with the Garda Band starting at 8pm

More Details here 

A PROJECT to make replicas of an old boat unique to the river Barrow and return them to the river for community use has been chosen as one of the Kildare Nationalist entries in the national Get Involved sustainable community campaign.

Athy Community Men’s Shed will initially make one boat, based on an original Barrow Cot Boat which was used by Cassidy’s Distillery and Brewery in Monasterevin which operated in the late 18th century and early 19th century. The whiskey and beer was transported to Dublin on canal boats and the Barrow Cot Boat would have been used to keep the river and canal clear for the bigger boats

The boat is navigated using a pole in a manner similar to the Gondolas of Venice.
Barry Keatley of the North Barrow Branch of Waterways Ireland said the original boat in their possession, on which they will base the replicas, is over 100 years old.
“The brewery closed in the early 19th century and this boat would have been in use for many years before the closure so it’s at least 100 years old if not more. There were different types of cot boat, the River Slaney had the Slaney Cot Boat for example and there were also cot boats on the River Suir. The boats had either a flat bottom or a keel depending on if the water was tidal or non tidal. The ones in this area were flat bottomed and had no keel because the waters here aren’t tidal.”
The project will be co-ordinated by the Athy Enterprise Office. Once the initial boat is made the plan is to apply for funding so that a potential eight boats can be built which can become a tourist attraction on the River Barrow.

“ The owner of the boat, Mr Edgar Holmes, has allowed us to take the boat back to Athy to replicate the original design down to the last bolt.”

The men who have been tasked with building the boats are the Athy Community Mens Shed. In the past they have worked with the local St Vincent’s Hospital to set out a garden build a fence. They have also stepped in to assist a local crèche who needed sensory tables built, as well as painting work and shelving carried out. Some of their longer term projects have also included bicycle repairs and recycling and computer repairs. The group has approximately 30 members according to Athy Community Mens Shed chairman Pat Vaughan.

“We have around 30 members but the numbers fluctuate depending on who is around. In the past we have also built nesting bird boxes on the River Barrow. Different members of the shed will have different skills that they can bring to the project. We have done quite a bit of research on the boats. For example we know that there was a Royal Charter in the year 1200 which regulated the use of boats on the Barrow. For the metal work we have contacted local blacksmith John Forkin who will do the metal work for us. We have also been in touch with the Arklow Mens Shed Group, they have done quite a bit of boat restoration in the past so they will be able to advise us on anything we aren’t sure about.”

The timber for the first boat arrived recently at the Athy Community Mens Shed workshop and Derek Samblin, who has taken on the role of project leader for the boat build, explained how the wood was chosen.

“For a boat like this they recommend you use either larch, red deal or red cedar. We decided to go with red cedar even though originally the boat would have been built using larch. Red dedar probably wouldn’t have been as readily available then as it is now. The numbers working on the boat will vary up and down over the course of the build. I reckon though that we will have about 15 to 20 working on the boat and we hope to have it ready in a couple of weeks.”

This project is possible with the help and support of Athy Enterprise Centre , Kildare Nationalist John Forkin Barry Keatley and many others 

Credits Kildare Nationalist 

New Members always welcome - we'll even make you tea 

Last week 15 members of Athy Community Men’s Shed successfully completed an 8 Week Woodworking Skills Course that was organised and funded by the KWTEB (Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board).

The course involved members of the shed taking on a woodworking project and availing of the skills and experience of local man Andrew Sullivan (originally from Australia) to help them successfully complete it.

Pictured are Andrew and some of the group members receiving their certificates from KWTEB.

The projects completed included garden furniture, antique restorations,  model barns, children’s furniture, and sign making to name but a few.

Shed member David Kenny stated that “the course was great fun, very enjoyable and it really helped me to improve my skills with wood, tools and project management. It was a great experience and I can’t wait for the next one!”

The course ran for 8 Saturday mornings and the regular Saturday Morning Barbeque at the Shed ensured that the men were well fuelled for their work.

The shed is now taking on a number of community projects such as the recreation of a “Barrow Cot”. This is a traditional barrow boat that was used on the river up to circa 1920 but has since disappeared from the river. This project will be ran in association with Athy Community Enterprise Centre and the Shed are inviting and welcoming any new members that might be able to help with the project, even if all that means is making a cup of tea for the team!

The shed is open Monday to Saturday between 10am to 2pm and new members are encouraged to make a visit.

Further information about Athy Men’s Shed is available through their website at: www. athymensshed.org

Pictures by Imed 

Original Vintage Raleigh Bicycle in perfect working order , 26" frame .€350 
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Great to see some interest in the bird box at the shed again this year