The main sports hall at the Incorporated Church of Ireland Cork Young Men’s Association – Garryduff Sports Centre – at Rochestown, Cork has been made available to assist with an important effort to make 10,000 face masks for frontline HSE workers over the next 4 weeks.

The initiative was started by Benchspace, a co-making workspace based in Cork City, who approached Garryduff to ask for the space to work with the required physical distancing.  Over one hundred volunteers of all ages are involved  A network of (home-based) people are using their 3D printers to print the ‘headband’ items, which are then collected and transported for final assembly with protective ‘acetate sheets’ for use by frontline healthcare workers in the battle against Covid-19 coronavirus.

Standing Together YET APART…. (front) Junior Cert pupil Donnacha shows one the of the completed ‘face shields’ after assembly by volunteers working at Garryduff Sports Centre, Co Cork. 
Pic; Larry Cummins/The Echo

Vice-President of Garryduff Sports Club and last year’s Club President, Trevor Dunne, explains:

A project has kicked off locally in Cork with the objective of providing Front Line Staff in Cork with Face Shields during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently there are  50 independent 3D printers who have come together to produce 10,000 face shields over the next 4-6 weeks through the leadership of Benchspace.

Garryduff Sports club is being used to provide space for a makeshift assembly line to assemble these 10,000 face shields  for the  frontline healthcare staff. We are delighted a club to help them.

All work has been completed in partnership with the HSE PPE Management team and the infection control department.

Club Patron, Bishop Paul Colton, said:

This is the sort of pooling and sharing of resources needed in this work together at this time.  I am thrilled that the ICICYMA/Garryduff has made available what would otherwise be empty and unused space during this pandemic to support such an essential initiative.

At Garryduff at the moment also, Vice-President Mervyn Kerr, and hard-working club committee member Diane Fehily are making contact with older and more vulnerable members and past-members to offer them support.

Father and son… Junior Cert pupil Donnacha was helping his dad Alan . Here he shows one of the completed ‘face shields’ after assembly by volunteers working at Garryduff Sports Centre, Co Cork.  
Pic; Larry Cummins/The Echo

A GoFundMe page has been set up to provide all necessary raw materials for the face masks project.  It is HERE

You can read Amy Nolan’s  report in The Echo HERE

and Eoin English’s report  in The Irish Examiner HERE

This NewsBlog is grateful to photographer Larry Cummins and The Echo for permission to use the photographs.

One the of the completed ‘face shields’ after assembly by volunteers working at Garryduff Sports Centre, Co Cork. Approx 100 volunteers are involved in the making of the items for the HSE with 10,000 shields to be delivered in approx 4 weeks.
Pic; Larry Cummins/The Echo