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Dingle Men’s Shed, Co Kerry
Beneath its modern surface, rural Ireland is a patchwork of ancient customs, traditions and practices.
These influence contemporary life in a variety of ways; some traditions, buried deep in the folk memory, surface only in the remembrances of the elderly, or the yellowing, dog-eared pages of local history books.
Some customs are practiced – or more accurately, performed – purely for the benefit of tourists and visitors, and bear little relation to whatever shred of authenticity remains buried among their roots.
Some traditions, however, remain vibrant and vital to this day, adapted to match the modern, inclusive communities that now practise them, but otherwise unchanged for many centuries.
And in Co Kerry, a local shed is helping to keep one such practice alive.
The ancient festival known as “Lá an Dreoilín”, or “Wren’s Day” (or “Wran’s Day”, depending on local pronunciation) was once practised widely throughout the island.
It traditionally falls on 26 December, and referring to that date as “St Stephen’s Day” would have earned you blank, suspicious looks from the natives throughout much of Irish history.
Wren’s Day has survived the coming of Christianity, of secularism as well as the turmoil of the 20th century and is still practised with as much enthusiasm as ever
The precise origins of Wren’s Day remain obscure, although some cite an association between wrens and the betrayal of St Stephen (happily, in these more enlightened times, the bird itself is no longer hunted or displayed on the day).
In Dingle, Wren’s Day has survived the coming of Christianity, of secularism as well as the turmoil of the 20th century and is still practised with as much enthusiasm as ever.
Like many sheds throughout the country, Dingle Men’s Shed is centrally involved with most events of local significance, and is already lending a hand with preparations for Wren’s Day, even as summer continues to reign.
Des McQuaid of Dingle Men’s Shed has been in touch with the details. Wren’s Day in Dingle is very much a tribal event, with each corner of the town boasting its own contingent, known simply as a “wren” or “wran”.
This year, Dingle Men’s Shed will lay down a very visible marker for each of these wrens
The four individual wrens, each with its own tribal colours dictated by ancient custom, represent the areas of Sráid Eoin (blue and white), Goat St (red and white), the Quay (green and white) and the Green and Gold Wren of Bridge St (green and gold, somewhat predictably).
This year, Dingle Men’s Shed will lay down a very visible marker for each of these wrens, supplying hand-crafted planter boxes in the relevant colour scheme to be planted in each corner of the town.
The boxes will serve as a subtle reminder of tribal loyalties, as the evenings shorten and the nights draw in.
This year, when hundreds line the streets to see the straw-clad wrenboys parade through Dingle, the local men’s shed will have played its role in keeping an ancient tradition alive.
Cloyne Men’s Shed, Co Cork
From the ancient to the new – we offer a brief introduction to Cloyne Men’s Shed of Co Cork.
The shed was founded as recently as February 2019, and has, in the words of committee member Billy Walsh, “brought together a group of men who would not normally meet”.
At present, the shed meets every Monday afternoon at the rooms of Cloyne GAA, to whom it owes a debt of gratitude.
While the shed has yet to acquire a workshop, Billy’s list of activities to date sounds positively idyllic.
“We have taken on maintaining the local community garden and have done some garden work with St Colman’s National School.”
Leisure activities include “fishing out of Ballycotton, walking in Rostellan Wood and visiting the organic farm and gardens of Ballymaloe Cookery School”.
Where do you sign up? Call the Irish Men’s Sheds Association on 01 891 6150 and we’ll put you in touch.
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