Women's Shed mooted for Community Centre

Treasurer Daragh Fitzgerald makes a point during the meeting.

The possibility of setting up a Women’s Shed in Kilcullen Community Centre was raised during the facility’s recent AGM, writes Brian Byrne.

The chair of the Centre’s board, Cathy Phelan, said there’s a need for something for women who are missing out socially with nowhere to go to meet through activities. “They’re a cohort who are not being looked after,” she said.

The suggestion came up in a discussion about the possibility of bringing two unused spaces into earning money for the Centre. One is over the Elms Montessori School and another on the ground floor currently being used as a store. “They’re not making a penny for the Centre Cathy Phelan said.

Centre manager Enda O’Neill said he knew of two groups who would immediately ‘walk into’ the upstairs room if it was available. “It’s a fantastic room, with great potential,” he said. Committee member Ronan Murphy agreed, suggesting that putting a full gym there is another idea.

The problem is finding the money to convert the spaces, which would need power supply and heating, windows, and fire escapes to bring them up to usable standards.

“We priced the cost two years ago at €30,000,” Enda O’Neill recalled. “It’s likely to be more now.” He reminded the meeting that the Centre can’t apply for large grants at the moment because legal work on unifying two legacy leases on the complex isn’t yet complete. “And any capital work we do from here on has to be grant-funded.”

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