Address by President Connolly at Afternoon Tea for Women’s and Men’s Sheds
Áras an Uachtaráin, 15 April 2026
A chairde,
I am delighted to welcome you all here to Áras an Uachtaráin. I know that many of you have travelled a long way, and I would like to thank you for being here.
Women’s and Men’s Sheds from all four corners of the country are represented here today – Cork, Meath, Dublin, Waterford, Sligo, Laois, Donegal, Louth, Kildare, Mayo, Antrim, and of course, Galway.
Ireland’s first men’s shed was established in Tipperary in 2009. Since then, the movement, for both men and women, has gone from strength to strength, with over 450 men’s sheds and 120 women’s sheds now up and running, serving over 12,000 attendees every week.
Today we recognise and celebrate that movement. It is a testament to your hard work and commitment that women’s and men’s sheds are thriving across the country.
While it rolls off the tongue, the word “shed” perhaps doesn’t quite capture the invaluable service you provide to your communities. The breadth and diversity of your activities and events is truly remarkable. With your imagination and dedication, it seems the possibilities are endless – including making garden furniture, helping out in community gardens, woodwork, iron craft, health and fitness, decoration making, choirs!
Your sheds offer a safe space to so many people who attend and participate for different reasons and for different periods of time. Some may be at a point of transition in their lives, be it moving from a working life, within the home or outside; others working through grief at the loss of a loved one; and for any other number of reasons. In this context, sheds provide a warm, safe space for people to meet each other, to learn new skills, and indeed to share skills and ideas.
A key problem facing many sheds is the acquisition of their own premises. Ideally, each shed would have security of tenure, whether the space is owned outright or leased from a local authority.
I would like to thank you all for being here today, and for your continued work on this very important and positive movement, that I hope will continue to grow and flourish.
I would like to thank everyone involved in making today so special – all the staff here at the Áras as well as our musicians, Luisa Annibali on vocals and Johnathan Batista Dos Santos on guitar.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.