Dundalk Women's Shed have plenty of events planed for the year

Dundalk Women's Shed celebrated their successful debut in 2022 with a Christmas party.

placeholder image — Dundalk Women's Shed celebrated their successful debut in 2022 with a Christmas party.

Dundalk Womens’s Shed celebrated the success of its first three months with a Christmas event filled with merriment and good cheer in their current venue, the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol.

They exchanged Kris Kindle gifts, brought home baked treats to share and danced and sang to the music of the talented guest artists, the Castlebellingham Ukulele Band.

They have a lot to celebrate. The Shed was only launched in September 2022 and has already recruited 150 members.

The initiative was spearheaded by Dara MacGabhann, Community Development Officer, Louth Local Development, in response to an emerging need within the Dundalk area.

From local surveys, women were expressing a need for greater opportunities for social interaction, to learn new skills and find out more information on welfare and health issues.

Women’s Sheds are being set up nationwide in response to this need in many parts of Ireland. Louth Local Development is supporting the development of Dundalk Women’s Shed by establishing a steering Committee to organise the Shed which aims to ensure the inclusion of women over 18 years who live in the Dundalk area.

2023 programme

The Women’s Shed has organised an inclusive and engaging programme of events for 2023 which began on Monday 9th January with a presentation by Barry Casey, Louth Sports Partnership which will support the Shed to set up a Walking Group for the members in the coming weeks.

Future events planned include talks on health and well being, the story of St Brigid and a demonstration of St Brigid’s Cross making, dance movement and outings to the Táin Theatre and Film Club.

Members have also been invited to participate in the forthcoming Community Dialogue Meeting in the Crowne Plaza on 2nd February to discuss the impact of the Peace Process on the lives of women living in border regions.

And of course and most importantly, the Shed continues to be a meeting place for social interaction, chat and craic for women of all ages and interests.

The Dundalk Women’s Shed meets every Monday morning in the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol.

Each session has a recommended fee of €3 and tea and coffee are provided.

The steering committee puts together a schedule of events based on surveys of members’ interests and suggestions.

Support for the shed from local and national agencies has been phenomenal with Louth Local Development playing a key role in establishing the initiative and continuing to support it.

Dundalk Credit Union has been a generous donor in 2022 while the Louth Meath Educational Training Board (LMETB) and the Local Sports Partnership are offering members courses in 2023.

Interested in joining the Women’s Shed?

Then come along on Mondays at 10am in January and February to the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol, Dundalk A91HD70.

For more information contact Dundalk Women’s Shed at [email protected]