A local Men’s Shed group is playing its part in the history of Lough Erne Cots as it constructs two cots in the anticipation of racing them in the Lough Erne Regatta later on this year.

The men of Belleek have been busy putting their craftsmanship to the test by shaping the cots, which at one time provided the main mode of transport travelling the lough.

“Before the roads and rail system, the River Erne was the transport highway for all goods travelling the length and breadth of Lough Erne,” explained Belleek Men’s Shed Chairperson, Leo Slevin.

“Ballyshannon was the local port, so goods including fish, coal, stone, timber, various building products, etc. had to be transported via Belleek.

“For that, along with the movement of people, goods and animals over and back to the islands on Upper and Lower Lough Erne, the cot would have been the vehicle of choice.”

The Belleek Cot build story began back in 2017 when the village was approached by Fred Ternan from Lough Erne Heritage (LEH) to see if there would be interest in running a regatta for Lough Erne Cots in Belleek as part of a heat, with the winners going on to take part in a final later in the year in Enniskillen.

Leo said: “LEH had revived the building of the cots a few years previously in Fermanagh. We had two very successful regattas in 2018 and 2019.

“We invited Lough Erne Landscape Partnership to the latter. They were very impressed with our event and the conversation came up regarding building our own traditional cot boat in Belleek.

“This led on to a conversation about setting up a Men’s Shed [group] in Belleek.”

After a couple of meetings in the local fire station training room to gauge the interest, a committee was formed and Belleek Men’s Shed became a reality.

“We secured suitable premises in the Craft Village close to Belleek Main Street,” added Leo.

After getting the funding required, the Men’s Shed was now in a position to re-open conversation with Lough Erne Landscape Partnership (LELP) with the intention of building the cots.

Leo continued: “We started our cot build in late October, 2021, based on the design by Lough Erne Heritage on previous builds.

“Our group are building two cots – they will be used in all future Belleek Regattas, starting in summer.

“We will also be involving our community in the story of the cots by organising visits to the local schools, taking groups out for trips on the river and attending information events.

“We are mindful and hoping to replicate the authenticity and craftsmanship of the original cots. We are proud to say this is evident in our project so far.”

As well as the building of the cot, the Men’s Shed group is also interested in preserving and recognising the skills in the locality of the pottery making that “exists in the DNA in the people of Belleek” and contributing to the village itself.

The group also holds training for members in first aid, manual handling, fitness and exercise sessions and safeguarding.

Funding

Highlighting some of the wideranging projects that the group has been involved with, to date, Leo said: “Apart from projects in the Shed [group] itself, we have worked closely with all the community groups.

“We have assisted the local pre-school group in projects such as assembling furniture and toys.

“Belleek Development and Heritage Group approached us to work alongside the Council in planting up the village planters and hanging baskets. The team also put together a mobile water bowser for watering and feeding the plants three evenings a week for the duration of the summer.

“In recent times we took part in organising the traffic control around Rathmore Clinic for the [Covid-19] booster vaccination programme.

“The Belleek Women’s Shed [group] approached us in early November with an idea of putting little hand-painted wooden memory plaques around the village Christmas tree as a fundraiser. We set to work and got suitable wooden branches cut, sanded and drilled ready for the Women’s Shed to paint Christmas robins on the plaques.

“It was a wonderful project to be part of, with all proceeds going to Action Mental Health,” added Leo.

With Covid-19 regulations restricting movement, people confined to home and not being able to get out and about as normal, one of the group’s members proposed looking into setting up ‘Belleek Radio’.

Radio station

After getting funding, the Shed group has now set up the radio station with an ever increasing local and global listenership.

“Men’s Sheds have been around globally since the 1980s. Here in Belleek, our members have many reasons to be part of our group. We have members covering all ages, ranging from 30 to 70-plus years of age, and our studio is located on the main street, over Freeburn’s Convenience Store.

“Everyone has something to offer. Whether to share a friendship, skill or a story, we’ll provide the time and place – and a cuppa!” concluded Leo.