b'In Ireland weve gone from folks having a lot of money,to lads walking around the street with their heads downa bit. Things are bad, and theyre bad for most families.Its hard for a man not to have a purpose. You see mencome here for the first time and they change. Its a relaxed environment that is supportive. They gain theirconfidence back.We have men here who are married and men who are single, but they all havethings on their mind that they worry about: family, bills,work, and health.When youve been active and busyand working all your life like me, and suddenly everyconversation is about being out of work and what billsyou have, thats hard. But then you come to theShed and learn how to do things youve never done be-fore, and you dont have to pay someone to learn them.Thats amazing. Im 52 years old and I left school whenI was 8. The folks here at Mens Sheds encouraged meto take a class. I never thought I could do anythinglike this. But I took a college course in computers herelast year and I loved it. I never dreamed I could takecollege courses, but here I am. To\x04yconnect 2012 | 38 Photography by Aengus McMahon'