we thought we better mark the occasion ​

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 

Pictures by Imed 

The item about men's sheds starts at 25 minutes into the podcast .

Athy Community Men's Shed were delighted to be involved with Athy Lions Club for todays cycle rally

We provided marshal's , two  bike mechanic's and a support car to pick up any bikes that might not of made the whole journey - gladly we are able to say that every bike crossed the finish line .

If you bike needs a tune up - drop into us for a service , we are open 6 days a week in the Enterprise Center on the Kilkenny Road

Click on any image for a larger view

Time to dust off that bike and join us for a fundraising event on the 28th September as we cycle around town and out to Levitstown and Kilkea fundraising for local schools .

Sponsor cards available in the Lions club book shop on Duke St

Great night of fun was had by all - trying our hands out at the art of Road Bowling


Kudos to Pierce for winning this evening - a great nights sport - and the weather was with us .

no doubt we will be doing this again some night soon - If you would like to try your hand - drop into the shed for more details . We are open 6 days a week - and some evenings - or email us here

Big thanks must go to Mick Osbourne for providing the bowls

Just in from www.menssheds.ie

"Hello All

The Irish Men's Shed Association have been given a very generous offer from a company who are willing to cover the costs for a Shedder to be a part of the Niall Mellon Township Trust which this year is to be a Mandela Tribute School Building Blitz in Eastern Cape, South Africa, during November 2014.

Participating in this exciting initiative would usually entail a lot of fundraising and a contribution to building materials, so to have been given this opportunity is very exciting and we are delighted to be able to offer it out to our members.

We are therefore planning on running a competition to see who will be that lucky person.

This is open to all Shedders, being skillful is not a necessary criteria as labourers are just as valuable as skilled workmen.  The only two requirements are that the participant has a valid passport which must be valid 6 months from the departure date from South Africa and that they have no issue being Garda Vetted with a view to receiving full Garda clearance prior to departure.

As part of our competition, we are looking for our Shedders to make a pitch as to why you deserve this opportunity.  These can be written essay style (2 full pages please) or as a voice or video recording lasting no longer than 3 minutes (on your phone is fine, keep it simple!).

These pitches should be returned to us by 5pm on Friday 13 June 2013 at the very latest.  They will then be judged and the successful person will be notified as soon as possible thereafter and their details published on our website.

Best of luck to you all!"

Thank you for your support on Thursday and Friday during our first annual flag day collection .

The amount of good will and messages of support we all heard on the main street was fantastic.

We were bowled over with the positive response's we all received


We successfully raised over €1,300 euro 

We were delighted to get enough wood from the local town council and would like to say thank you to Athy Town Council for providing enough wood for over 100 nesting box's which went up around the town's park's and green area's recently.

As a bit of interest , we'll run a competition with a small prize.
To win , all you have to do is get a photograph of a bird using one of the nesting box's and post it to our facebook page. First person to get a photo of a bird nesting in one of the nest box's and post it to our wall will win a small prize from us. ( Hint it could be a bird box )

It's that time of year again and our insurance premium is due to be paid once more.

So to help take the sting out of the payment we are thinking of idea's that we could use

Would you buy a Tee Shirt like in the photo's below and help us raise the money to pay our premium.

The Tee Shirts are navy blue in color , can be shipped anywhere in the world

Two years ago today , we opened our shed.


Thank you all for your support over the last couple of years .