Our Story
We are a not-for-profit Cooperative and Sustainable Enterprise run by a wonderful team of people passionate to create positive change!
An Mheitheal Rothar came about after a good idea was pursued with determination. In September 2010 The NUIG Ecology Society was having one of its first meetings of the college year, the simple question ‘what fun initiatives could we organise which would have a positive impact for the local environment?’ was asked.
The answer was an ‘ecospace’ – an environment which encouraged peer to peer learning, civic and environmental responsibility and empowered people in their own abilities.
An Mheitheal Rothar was born from the idea that people could come together in a group or a cooperative, helping each other as part of a community.
Since then, An Mheitheal Rothar has grown and grown!
Now employing 10 people, we have expanded beyond just our DIY workshop to include ‘Siopa Rothar’, our bike shop on the University of Galway campus, a bicycle refurbishment centre where we run the award-winning Recycle Your Cycle programme and a training centre which offers long-term unemployed individuals the chance to upskill as a bicycle mechanic.
This is alongside a burgeoning education programme which offers a medley of classes, courses and workshops to schools, businesses, bike nerds or people who just want to learn how to finally fix a puncture!
What hasn’t changed is our goal to create a positive impact in any way we can, by continuing to promote the values of repair and reuse, by removing barriers to cycling as means of travel for all or by aiming to do business differently!
What Does Our Name Mean?
The name of our community organisation is as Gaeilge and is in an effort to respect and share our heritage and culture. Meitheal is a gaelic word traditionally used in rural communities when people from a community would come together to work on a particular problem or task - often which would not be able to be done by individuals on their own.
An example would be if one week a particular farmer had an orchard which was ripe and needed to be picked, the members of the community would come together on a particular day or days and work together to pick the fruit. There would often be food and sharing on the day. The following week at another location the members of the community would get together to help plough a field etc. etc.
There is a strong sense of support and togetherness expressed through the meitheal’s, or community working groups. It is a great example of community resilience and communities being stronger working together.
And ‘Rothar’ is the Irish word for bicycle!
