Columba College students nail down working with Men's Shed!
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Garacabrera Ramos and Marina Martin Alfonso from Columba College TY.Image 2 of 6
Liz Reynolds and Jack Kiernan at Killucan Mens Shed.Image 3 of 6
Melissa Keogh from Columba College.Image 4 of 6
LEFT: one of the memory boxes.Image 5 of 6
Leon Abel and Ellen Doyle helped out with the memory boxes.Image 6 of 6
Ryan Fitzgerald and Samantha ClarkeWhen the Westmeath Examiner visited the Killucan Area Men’s Shed late last year, there were women as well as men present! That’s because they were hosting a group of transition year students from Columba College, Killucan, who were working under the guidance of Gerry Deegan (see main story) on various items, many of them with a Christmas theme.
One of the project was a giant size X and O game, of which Gerry remarked with a smile: “It’ll get them off their phones and get them playing games instead!” That game was, in common with the decorations and cars the students were working on, largely made of wood.
The Killucan Area Men’s Shed has a good relationship with local schools, and the men have enjoyed working with them, particularly students with additional needs.
Samantha Clark, an English teacher at Columba College, was with the TY class the day the Examiner visited, and she said “they’re (students) absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to come down to the Men’s Shed and see what it’s about”.
Ms Clark said that Gerry had explained the importance of men’s mental health and spoke about the Movember fundraising event: “It’s great for the kids to get to know that importance of that and to be award that this (the Men’s Shed) is available for people to come down and use, and it’s an opportunity for them to get crafty as well because TY is great for that.”
There were seven students visiting that day, and the TYs had arranged to visit seven at a time, so that everyone had the opportunity to use the equipment safely.