Local Faces: Noel McEvoy

“DUBLIN and Firhouse have given so much to me, I want to be able to give something back,” says Noel McEvoy, chairman of the Firhouse Men’s Shed.

Originally coming from a farming background in Monasterevin, County Kildare, Noel made his way to Dublin and put down his roots in Firhouse in 1989.

“It was a lot more rural than it is today and the M50 wasn’t even built at that stage,” Noel tells The Echo.

Noel previously worked in Tallaght in the beer industry all his life before retiring around eight years ago, and has kept busy ever since with the Firhouse Men’s Shed and working in his allotment in Bohernabreena.

“When I retired my GP asked me what I had lined up to do, and I told him that I had an allotment up in Bohernabreena and that has been a great way to get out and get stuck in,” Noel explained.

“It helps me keep active, meet new people and be out in the fresh air as well as practicing mindfulness and having the banter with some of the other lads.

“I would go up about three times a week during the Spring and then I would go up to pick up potatoes and a few veg that I have planted.”

About two years after he became involved in the allotment, Firhouse councillor Brian Lawlor approached Noel to see if he would be interested in setting up a Men’s Shed in the Firhouse area and be chairman.

“When we called the first meeting, we had 45 people show up and we couldn’t get over the interest in it,” said Noel.

“It was something that was really badly needed in the area because a lot of men had retired at that time and were at a loose end with nothing to do.

“The great thing about it is that men who may be widowed or living alone, they teamed up themselves and would go into town or go to the cinema and do various other things.

“There are other men who would play pitch and putt who are a group on their own, we have a group that does art and then men who do hillwalking and bowling, so there is really something for everyone to enjoy.”

The Firhouse Men’s Shed, based in the Scout’s Den at Firhouse Community Centre, offers a range of different activities and trips, as well as being a place for men to come and meet others, have a chat and a coffee and socialise.

“These men have worked all their lives, so they may not have had the chance to do certain things that they had an interest in or try something new, so this gives them that chance,” said Noel.

“When I was working, I never had time to be involved in other things, so this is a chance to do that and also to be able to give back to the community that has been so good to me.”

Like many groups, many of the activities that the Men’s Shed would do normally had to be put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have a walking group that is very well attended, so during the lockdown when restrictions eased, we used to walk down along the Dodder in Dodder Valley Park socially distanced with masks – it gave everyone a chance to get out and have a chat,” said Noel.

“That was the only thing that we could do and not everybody could attend.

The numbers have come back up now after Covid, and we have around 70 members now.”

Giving advice to someone that may be looking to join but is hesitant, Noel says that the Men’s Shed will welcome anyone who has an interest.

“It is usually the men’s wives that make the first approach in trying to get them to join. I say to them to meet me outside the Scout’s Den on a Tuesday morning, and I bring them in and introduce them to everybody.

“It is just getting over that initial barrier and once they come for the first day, they fly it.

“They are all a friendly bunch of lads here.

“We are all the best of friends now and we have all become so close through the Men’s Shed.”

The Firhouse Men’s Shed runs from Monday to Friday at the Scouts Den at Firhouse Community Centre.

For more information or to join, visit the Firhouse Men’s Shed Facebook page or email at firhousemensshed@gmail.com.