'Women's shed' celebrating International Women's Day

A group of good humoured women gathered outside the parochial house in Tullamore to celebrate International Women's Day.

The women are all part of the new newly formed Women's Shed group which will have its first meeting in the coming weeks.

The women's shed is the brainchild of Olibh Ni Dhaibhis and the group is for women over 18 and upwards. They will meet each Friday morning in a room provided by the Laois Offaly Education and Training Board.

Olibh got the idea after she was diagnosed with a tumour on her pancreas, she was attending the Dochas centre in Tullamore, but later she felt she was taking a space which could be filled by someone more in need.

To get the ball rolling on her new concept she enlisted the help of two friends and she posted the idea for a women’s shed group on Facebook. By the next day 500 women had joined.

'' Through Covid I felt isolated and I think a lot of women felt the same. So this is a place to drop in and have a cup of tea and a chat.’’ said Olibh.

A committee has already been formed and are planning some of the activities that will take place. Olibh said women have been volunteering their services from arts and crafts to beauty classes to simple DIY like putting up a shelf, or changing a lock.

‘’It won’t require a huge commitment; these will be one or two hour courses,’’ she explains.

This morning was the group's first get together and they all walked down the canal line to Boland’s Lock. It was a cold blustery day but it didn't dampen the spirits of the women who turned up.

If you would like to join the Tullamore Women’s Shed you can contact Olibh on 087-7675018.