Women's Shed Limerick seek permanent home for Christmas-time

MEMBERS of a Women’s Shed in Limerick are seeking the perfect Christmas gift - a place to call home.

Established in 2022 by Sinead O’Beirne Brinn and Eimear Scully, the Women’s Shed exists to provide a safe, social environment to connect with others, learn new skills, and reduce social isolation - in a similar manner to the Men’s Sheds which have grown in popularity in recent years.

While Sinead and Eimear have moved on, a new dedicated committee of eight women are now steering the ship, led ably by chairperson Annette Murphy of Dooradoyle.

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In order to give the Shed a more definitive location, members decided to rename it Women's Shed Limerick, or WSL (Dooradoyle/Raheen).

Serving such a huge geographic area brings its own challenges, as there are no community facilities in the area, which could be shared with other community organisations.

At the moment, its members meet at both Ballybrown Community Centre - on the first and last Tuesday of a month, and Mungret Soccer Club for the two dates in between them.

While the women are full of appreciation for the groups here for their help, they need a new home to continue to develop their Shed, which has around 80 members.

“What we need is something where people, if they wanted to walk, could walk to, or they wanted a short drive, within the Raheen/Dooradoyle area,” Annette explained.

As it stands, they say the two venues are “a step too far” for some members.

“The reality is, a lot of elderly women would not drive out to Ballybrown on a winter's night,” said Marie Storan, another committee member, who hails from Ballinacurra Road.

“That’s why we are also using Mungret soccer club, and they have been very good to us. However, it’s not always suitable for every event,” added Annette.

While Shed members would traditionally meet on Tuesday evenings, having a full-time premises would mean they could have a place to go in the daytime.

Over the last number of months, the committee has organised a variety of events from the enjoyable - drama classes, chair yoga, bingo nights, Tai Chi, concerts and plays - to the serious and useful - sessions on staying safe while online, bowel cancer and information on wills and power-of-attorney legislation.

They also support good causes across the world, including a shoebox appeal and Daffodil Day.

Marie explained the importance of ensuring things are kept light-hearted.

“Fun with a capital F,” she said. “There isn’t enough of it in our lives. Everything is so serious, so intense and so sad.”

There is a more powerful side to what the group offers - comradeship and company to people who might experience loneliness.
When the committee returned after a summer break, Marie stated how happy many were to be back.

“On registration night, we were meeting and greeting people. We didn’t expect such an influx of people.

“The queue was long and all we could hear was ‘oh, girls, it’s great to see you, it’s great to be back. I missed you, I’m looking forward to this’.

“I knew it was important to people, but not to the extent we saw that night,” she recalled.

Often-times, the group says its members simply want to have a space to meet up and leave all of their problems behind.

Mary Moloney, who hails from Ennis Road, added: “There aren't many places a woman can go, where she can feel comfortable as an individual, particularly as she gets older in society.”

Annette adds: “They say, women will talk more about issues with their friends, so why would they need a Women's Shed?

“However, society feels women should just get on with things. I'm a trained therapist and in the past women I worked with struggled to even say they were suffering from anxiety - the belief that women can do a variety of tasks at once and that they can just keep going. You have your friends, you have your nights out, yet some women don't.”

It sounds so simple, but often, a hug, a friendly chat, and a cup of tea or coffee with a biscuit, can really make a lot of difference to people who are struggling, with anything in their lives.

Annette added: “For some of these women to get a warm greeting means a lot. They feel connected, they feel there is a bond there, and they feel they can trust us.”

Marie concluded: “The emphasis is more on fun, to lighten your life, and lift your shoulders”

If you are interested in joining up with the Women's Shed Limerick, or indeed if you can help with a venue, email womensshedlimerick@gmail.com, or text 089 4519177.