Flag Days at Kenmare Men’s Shed
Kenmare Men’s Shed made the special hand-crafted wooden stands for schools to fly their National Flags.
In every secondary school across the state the National Flag hangs from a stand which was made with care by a group of men for whom the task was a labour of love.
The Kenmare Men’s Shed was assigned with putting together 800 stands over a ten-week period and rose to the challenge.
“Henry Ford would have been proud of us,” jokes Jean Pierre Teroy who was the Chairman of the group during its flag stand assembly phase.
“There was a lot of organisational and assembly work involved,” explains John O’Connor, a member of the Men’s Shed for whom working with wood is both a passion and a career.
He continued: “The base already came with text lasered into it but we had to install a lead weight. Then there were two lengths of ash, each about a metre in length and a pointed finial at the top. The structure was connected using brass fittings and umpteen screws. It was timeconsuming to put each stand together and we had to make sure we had a good assembly line in place.”
The text John refers to on the base of the flag stands reads: ‘This Irish Flag was raised over 33 the Mall, Waterford from where Thomas Francis Meagher flew a tri-colour for the first time on March 7 th, 1848 and for eight days and nights thereafter.’
Its followed by a quote from the founding father of the flag – “I trust that beneath its folds, the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.”
Inside their work station at the Gortamullen Business Park in Kenmare the men joined, turned, sanded and varnished. As the weeks rolled on, and winter started giving way to spring, the finish date drew closer and the assembly line picked up the pace.
The ash wood came from Ballyvourney in County Cork while the Munster Joinery company sourced and delivered the brass fittings.
“Coming near the end we were working five days a week,” explains Jean Pierre, “from 10 in the morning to four in the evening. We operated a rota system and had people on hand delivering the mugs of tea and coffee.”
As the sawdust mounted, the clamour of assembly grew and the stacks of completed flag stands piled up, it became clear that the order would be finished with some time to spare.
It was fitting that the organisational force behind Team Tricolour in Kenmare was a Frenchman. “It was perfect that we had Jean Pierre as our flag, of course, is based on the flag of the French Republic,” explained local Senator Mark Daly who, along with Reverend Michael Cavanagh, initiated the project.
And on March 7 th, 2016 in Croke Park representatives of every secondary school in the country converged to celebrate the Thomas F. Meagher Foundation and Ireland 2016’s Flags for Schools initiative. There they were presented with a flag of Ireland which had been flown from 33 the Mall in Waterford by the Irish Defence Forces along with the stand made by comrades in arms in the heart of the Kingdom.
As well as gracing every secondary school the stands were presented to Universities and were used, on request of the Department of the Taoiseach, during the Easter Sunday parade through the heart of Dublin City last year.
For Senator Mark Daly the story of the flag stands, and the men behind their construction is highly significant. He explains: “The flags themselves are made by Project Designs off Camden Street in Dublin – they are the same company which make flags for our Defence Forces, Government Departments and the President’s Office. But when we looked for an Irish manufacturer of flag stands we couldn’t find any. We thought it would be inappropriate to use stands that were made overseas for something so uniquely Irish and so we looked locally.”
For the men of the Kenmare Men’s Shed the completion of their project was hugely satisfying – “We were proud of what we achieved. It was all about team work and we enjoyed the task,” explains Jean Pierre Teroy.
The group was initially formed in 2011 and their first meetings were held in the Adult Education Centre in Kenmare.
Projects in the early years included building a Currach, toys and nest boxes. One man even made a life-size Doctor Who tardis for his daughter so she could stand in it while she was waiting for the school bus.
“You know the slogan of the Men’s Shed is that ‘Men talk shoulder-to-shoulder’ and we really found that as we tackled projects together,” explains member David Farrell, adding: “We have a core of men who are always involved and then others drop in occasionally. It’s been brilliant for us and we’re just eager now to find a new home as we’re currently without a base.”
The search for a new home for the Kenmare Men’s Shed continues. The men there want a regular hook on which to hang their hats…just as flags hang on the stands which they crafted so skilfully.