The BEDA hall in Ballineen has a lot going on, and so it was on Monday evening last week when The Southern Star went to meet the hale and hearty ‘Men on the Move’, who were gearing up for their weekly class with Mary Kelleher.

An initiative of Cork Sports Partnership, the Ballineen group are led by Mary each Monday night; the class has been running since 2023 spurred by a ‘Couch to 5k’ series that Mary was running at the nearby pitch.

This current session is the third, and many if not all of the men are repeat fitness customers.

This particular group are made up of men in their 50s, up to their 70s.

The exercises are varied, and include elements of pilates and stretching as well as more ‘traditional’ exercise.

There’s plenty of equipment scattered about the room.

However, none of the participants seem nervous and Lycra and protein shakes are absent.

This is not CrossFit or Hyrox, but something much more sensible and non-threatening.

The warm-up seems to involve a lot of chatting, so it wasn’t difficult for The Southern Star to join in.

John McCarthy, a former driver for Bus Éireann, told how he found that in his job he was sitting, sitting, sitting. 

‘4.45am get up, drive from Bandon to Cork then back again. When I’d get to Parnell Place, I’d sit down again and have a cup of tea. Then back to the car and sit down again’.

He was introduced/strong-armed into joining by Richard Bradfield at an autograss event: ‘The class is fantastic; Richard had said to me, “will you come down for a bit of fun?”’

Michael Crowley, Liam Foley, Kieran O'Driscoll, and Micheal Dullea.

Meanwhile Richard says he got involved to get a bit of exercise, all-important when you’re getting older.

He played hockey in the past, and says there’s no difficulty in forcing himself out the door and down to the hall, a sentiment that is shared by (almost) everyone.

Monday evening is dark, wet, and fairly miserable but the sense of fun and craic is palpable.

There’s a real feeling that everyone is genuinely looking forward to the class.

Dan Lane and Kevin Corcoran are also ‘warming up’ (ie. chatting in the corner).

Dan comes for the enjoyment and the social side of things, and also to repair the body after ‘all my life welding’ and a few physio visits for his shoulder.

Kevin has had two shoulder reconstructions, and played hurling and football in his younger years.

He gave up cycling because ‘the roads are too bad’, and has high praise for Mary’s class.

‘It’s great. Mary’s excellent, and there’s no pressure on anyone’.

Jack McCarthy and Richard Bradfield ready for action on Monday evening.

Nearby is Michael Crowley, who is a huge fan of pilates. He took up the discipline 10 years ago, supplemented with the last two years with the ‘fantastic’ reformer pilates.

After a knee operation two and half years ago, he professes to being fitter now than he was a decade ago. 

Kieran O’Driscoll is another who was ‘always involved in sport’ with a life of working in Carbery; he is joined by Micheal Dullea who’s in BEDA to keep fit.

Liam Foley admits its the aches and pains that come with natural ageing that interests him in the class.

He’s also the only one honest enough to admit that it can be hard to leave the fire!

The social and group element of the class is a huge draw, with many admitting they wouldn’t do it on their own.

There’s usually 17 or 18 in the hall, and other Men on the Move classes are held in other areas across Cork. Right now, there’s another series of classes running in nearby Ballinacarriga Hall. 

Check out the Cork Sports Partnership page for more classes nearby, or groups are invited to contact the organisation directly if they’d like guidance on how to get one going in their own community.