"I call myself a recovering farmer now," jokes Evoy. "It’s fifteen years since I last farmed…" Evoy then ventured into social work. He knew he wanted to help people. Even as he got his own life back on track, he began volunteering in social groups and finally gained paid employment in this area.
"I worked on a number of different initiatives – a youth café and a drop in centre," says Evoy. "I began to witness how people interacted in a community and we trained other communities.
"Give them a purpose or a project and they can bond and talk. It is very powerful. The Men’s Sheds are purposely non-directional; each shed has autonomy to do their own thing. Some build boats, some fix tractors, some get involved in community projects like the tidy towns. The beauty is that everything is organic – and the most important tool in every shed is the kettle."
In some ways, Evoy can trace back the concept of a shed to his own local forge run by his grandfather. "Back in the day, men gathered there to talk, watch my grandfather work and bond. There was no TV so the social life was outside not indoors."
Evoy recognises that why every shed is different and unique, rural sheds tend to run along different lines to urban ones.
For starters, men in the country tend to be busy during the day, regardless of whether they have paid employment or not. Farmers are busy by nature during daylight hours and so the rural sheds tend to be busier at night time.
"Urban sheds reflect the fact urban dwellers are used to a 9 to 5 working environment and so when they have time on their hands, through retirement or unemployment, then it is natural for them to want to congregate during the day," he says.
Evoy also notes that the sheds reflect people displacement. "If someone has moved into a new area and may not have established friends, then the Men’s Sheds can be a very welcome place. For example, the Men’s Shed in Gorey is full of Dubs," he says. "So, membership can be very diverse."
Evoy is actually only a member of one Men’s Shed – in Malmo in Sweden. "They ran a crowdfunding project and my contribution was rewarded with life time membership. I visited last year and immediately felt at home."
Article: Independent.ie 23 Nov 2017 Photo: Sean Kehoe