The Health & Wellbeing team at The Irish Men’s Sheds Association aim is to provide an Umbrella of wraparound Health & Well Being supports, information and participative opportunities to Shedders across the Island of Ireland.

Over 80% of Men say they ‘feel better’ for being part of a Shed and we recognise the environment itself is undeniably ‘health-promoting’. From North to South, East to West, each Shed is an individual as the Men who choose to come together to make a Shed – based on shared interests like boat-building, bee-keeping or biodiversity. Each Shed is a unique mix of 3 key ingredients – People, Place and Purpose.

Connection (and of course the kettle!) is the essential component of every Shed.

Sheds offer Men social, psychological, emotional and physical Health & Well Being supports. When we say ‘there is a place for every Man in a Shed’ we mean that all Men are invited to take part in Shedlife at their own pace and in line with their own circumstances and preferences.

The success of Shed’s in Ireland in positively impacting Older Men’s lives continues to be extraordinary and builds on the country’s leadership in having one of the first National Men’s Health Policies. For every Shedder who benefits, there are family, friends and communities who feel the positive impacts and presence of a Shed.

Connection alone is reason enough for a Shed in every Irish community for Men (who we also know die younger, have higher death rates for almost all leading causes of death and who present later to services and supports). Ireland currently has the highest rate of loneliness in Europe and the third highest incidence of adult mental illness across 36 countries in Europe, 80% of suicides in Ireland are Men. The Health & Well Team frequently are told by Men that their Shed has saved their life, given them a renewed purpose or meaning and becomes the ‘Why’ that gets them out of bed in the morning.

Some unfamiliar with Sheds might think it’s just about tea and chat. However, walk into your community Shed and you are likely to discover a bustling hub of creativity and transformation for local Men navigating key changes in their lives. Sheds offer spaces for life-long learning, skills sharing and value people as they age. They are rich in knowledge, experience and encourage ongoing contribution ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with each other and in their communities. Single, Widowed, Retired, Lonely, Socially Isolated, Carer or Cared for? There is a welcome for you, respectful and without judgement in a Shed. Shed’s are places where you don’t lose any previous identity, you gain a new one – a ‘Shedder’.

By and large, Shed’s are safe, supportive and confidential spaces for Men to share their feelings and discuss things they couldn’t imagine discussing outside any other four walls.

Whilst Sheds provide spaces for informal health interventions and offer a range of supports and signposting under our Health & Well Being Umbrella of activities, our team do this in a particular way using a ‘health by stealth’ approach. We consult and collaborate with our Men and work with our partners in a creative and integrated way. Men are at the heart of everything we do and our work not only reflects and prioritises the unique environment we work in but also the lives of generations of Men who attend our Sheds with their particular social, cultural and historical backgrounds.

The IMSA Health & Well Being team research, develop and deliver targeted, gender and cohort-specific health interventions to Shedders in communities across Ireland. The team play a key role in ‘connecting’ Sheds at grassroots level with local and regional supports and signposting. Every Shed in Ireland receives a Health & Well toolbox which is packed with information and signposting on lots of male related health issues and concerns. If you are a Shed looking for specific information on a Health-related issue and can’t find an answer give the team a call or email us. We will always try to help.

We offer all our Sheds a range of projects, programmes and initiatives with cross-sector, multi disciplinary collaborators and partners which they can choose to be part of such as The Daffodil Bench Project, The Good Bike Project and Elephant in the Room. Our flagship Health & Well Being Programme ‘Sheds for Life’ now in its 5th year has reached every county in Ireland offering Exercise, Food and Nutrition, Heart Health checks and a variety of workshops to Men in their own Sheds with Spring and Autumn deliveries.

For Sheds interested in increasing their exercise we have developed a Walkshop Resource and deliver Walking Football in partnership with Age & Opportunity as an opportunity for Sheds. For those Shedders who wish to upskill their Digital knowledge we have a free bespoke course with one to one tuition in partnership with Age Action available. Other Health resources here on the website for Shedders include a Dementia Resource for Sheds (in association with Alzheimer Society of Ireland) and a range of Health & Well Being Podcasts on issues and topics related to Men’s Health.

We hope you enjoy reading about our work!