Athgarvan Women's Shed open to Kilcullen members

Rose McGarvey, Eileen Deely, Stephanie Somers and Carmel Murphy.

A new Athgarvan area Women's Shed group is open to membership from women in Kilcullen who would like to avail of the opportunities it offers, writes Brian Byrne. With waiting lists for membership in the Women's Shed movement in other mid-Kildare towns, the Athgarvan group has been building quietly since it was established during the past summer.

The members meet twice weekly in the Athgarvan Pitch & Putt Club premises, and they are open to the possibility of a second location in Kilcullen if interest from here requires it.

The concept of Women's Sheds is similar to the Men's Shed movement — offering social interaction, sharing of skills, and developing members' interest over a wide range of activities. The Athgarvan group is led by chairperson Carmel Murphy, along with a committee comprising Rose McGarvey, Eileen Deely and Stephanie Somers. 

"There wasn't anything like this in the Athgarvan area, so we contacted Carmel Cashin of Kildare County Council and she gave us guidance on how to go about it," Carmel Murphy told the Diary. "The key thing she said to us was that it had to be inclusive."

Starting in the summer, with people on holidays and other distractions, meant that the Athgarvan initiative could go about things at an easy pace, testing the waters. But already there are 22 members and at the time of writing another seven women had expressed interest in joining, so the group is already well established. Among the activities begun and planned are chair yoga, jewellery making, card crafts, crochet and knitting, just to mention a few. "We have a lot of skills that we can share," says Rose McGarvey. "We're also planning outings, and basically we're offering a place where women, sometimes who live alone, can meet with other women in a fun and safe environment." 

Among requests for activities has been a significant interest in DIY skills sharing, and that's very much on the cards in the near future. "We found that there are members who have done DIY courses and are quite happy to share those skills with the group," Carmel Murphy says. "I think things like these are very valuable." Another member is proficient in Irish Sign Language (ISL), and will be teaching that to any members who are interested. A member working in mental health will offer workshops on that subject. "Where we differ from traditional women's organisations is that we have a much wider range of ages, and a much broader range of talents that can be shared," Stephanie Somers says. 

The support from Kildare County Council has been very helpful, Rose McGarvey says. "In addition to pointing us to sources of funding for particular projects, they have also given us names of tutors who can help with some of the interests that have shown up within the group."

The Shed members are also very appreciative of the help given by Athgarvan Pitch and Putt Club in the use of their premises — "which is also a good location for those of us in the Shed who go walking together," Rose McGarvey says. 

The group has been growing quickly in recent weeks. "Since the beginning of September, every time I go on Monday evenings I've had to set out extra chairs," says Eileen Deely, adding that the interest is from all ages ("There are people there who have children and people there who have grandchildren"). Stephanie Somers says she has been surprised at the number of people offering to give courses and skills sharing within the group.

Anyone interested in joining the Athgarvan Women's Shed can go along on Monday evenings from 7pm-9pm and Wednesday mornings from 10am-1pm. There's an email womensshedathgarvan@gmail.com, a Facebook page (Athgarvan Women's Shed), or call 085 3447520. A members WhatsApp keeps everyone informed of what's going on.

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