Irish Men’s Sheds Association named Sustainable Development Goals Champion
The Irish men’s sheds movement has received many humbling accolades in recent years. Few, however, have carried the significance of that awarded on Wednesday September 18, when the Irish Men’s Sheds Association was named a Sustainable Development Goals Champion for the years 2019/2020.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are an ambitious set of targets, outlining the social, economic and environmental requirements for a sustainable global future.
The Goals cover policy areas such as poverty eradication, economic development, protection of the environment, access to health and education services, gender equality, peaceful societies and human rights. The Irish government has committed to fully implementing each of the goals by 2030.
The announcement was made by Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D at the Ploughing Championships in Fenagh, Co. Carlow.
The IMSA is one of twelve Sustainable Development Goals Champions for 2019/2020, and the list reads like a roll call of Ireland’s most prestigious and beloved organisations. As well as the IMSA, the list includes the GAA, An Post , Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Carlow County Council, ECO Unesco,the Irish Congress of Trade Unions,Musgrave, the National Women’s Council of Ireland , Smart Farming – Irish Farmers Association, the Union of Students of Ireland, and Vodafone.
Speaking after the announcement, Irish Men’s Sheds Association CEO Barry Sheridan had this to say: “When you look at the list of organisations named as Champions alongside ourselves, you see the likes of the GAA, An Post, the ICTU – organisations with roots going back over a century in some cases. For us to be on that list, representing a movement less than a decade old, is a massive, massive tribute to ourselves, but more importantly, to all our sheds and members, and the communities that support them throughout the country”.
IMSA Chairman Eoin Martyn, Fundraising Manager Frank Dillon, and Health and Wellbeing Manager Edel Byrne were present at the event to accept the accolade from Minister Bruton, and to meet the other Champions.
