Waterford may be famous for it's Blaa but Longford has now got a BLA of it's own

Everyone enjoyed a lovely morning at the official launch of Ballycloghan/Legan/Ardagh (BLA) Women’s Shed Group.

The development of this group came about in February following on from an informal get together on Tuesday mornings.

Some of the ladies were eager to develop the group into something more streamlined. It was decided after some research that a Women’s Shed would most likely meet the scope of what the ladies wanted.

Secretary Noeleen McTaggart explained, “We elected our committee and advertised a start date for the following week and as they say the rest is history. We now have 37 members and growing.”

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She continued, “The ideology of this Women’s Shed group was that it would be set up for women of all ages to re-connect with themselves and the wider community.

“Above all we want the shed to be a safe place where women can come together and take-part in various projects and share skills with each other. Our ethos is Women Empowering other women through the sharing of skills and learning new skills.

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“What we have found with women as they get older is that they have lost their role or sense of purpose especially if they have retired or their children have gone off to college , got married or indeed gone abroad and it creates a void, they suddenly have time for themselves but unsure how to fill it.

“We hope to offer a range of activities for everyone to enjoy, aimed at improving health and well-being through friendship and skill-sharing. One of the main goals is to provide a space that people can come together, this will help in reducing isolation and help foster a community of kindness and support.

“Women’s Sheds have largely been created by women in order to claim the shed as a positive female gendered space, and to create an alternative community of women’s hands-on practice.

“We already have started sharing our knowledge of fun activities like dancing and card playing and last week had a lovely morning trip to Fernhill Garden Centre.

“We plan going forward to learn basic DIY skills and car maintenance skills as well as having speakers on a wide variety of topics with input from Longford Garda on making our homes more safe.

“It was with great pride we had so many come along this morning with some notable ladies from other groups and businesses such as Ann Noone Ardagh ICA and Martina Burns from Richmount Cordial who came along and spoke on the positive impact all of these group have for communities.

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“Also present was our local priest Fr Charlie and Chairperson of Ballycloghan Hall Johnny Murray who wished us every success in the future. Also huge thank you to Councillor Paul Ross who did the official launch for us and Councillor Mick Cahill who came along to show his support. All of this made it a very enjoyable morning indeed.”

New members are very welcome and you can just come along on a Tuesday morning at 10.30 to Ballycloghan Hall, Ballycloghan, Carrickboy, Longford or phone 085 2112450 for more information. 

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