Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed aims to provide a safe environment for men to socialise and connect with one another while participating in activities and projects of mutual interest. Along with our weekly get-togethers on Thursday mornings at Donabate Scouts’ Den on the Portrane Road, we have a wide variety of activities and outings.

We have two plots at Turvey Allotments which require tender loving care at this time of year, with a rota of members tending to watering and weeding to ensure a bumper harvest later in the year.

There are weekly exercise classes using equipment, some of which was donated and more purchased with HSE and Fingal grant-aid. These classes are ably led by our own Fintan Delaney and tailored to suit the needs of our members.

Gerry and the Plonkers, our music group, have weekly practice sessions in the Scouts’ Den. These are obviously paying off, as the Plonkers have created quite a name for themselves with recent gigs in Beaverstown Golf Club and Donabate Portrane Community Centre and up-coming gigs at Swords Castle (as part of Vintage Picnic) and Newbridge House, which is part of Fingal Men’s Sheds Walk and Talk on Monday 9th June organised by the Irish Men’s Shed Association and Fingal County Council.

We also have occasional outings. The most recent late last month was a pitch and putt morning at Deerpark in Howth.

We are always open to new members and new ideas for activities. So, if you or someone you know would like to join us, please call our PRO, Jim, on 086-3694316, or drop in to the Scouts’ Den on a Thursday morning. You’ll always get a warm welcome and a cuppa.