Tribute To Paul Nagle

MEMBERS of the Dewi Sant Men’s Shed have been left shocked and saddened by the loss of Paul Nagle who passed away on Christmas Day after a short but brave battle against Cancer.
Rhondda born Paul, who was 70, spearheaded the formation of the Dewi Sant Men’s Shed of which he was a tireless and loyal member.
He attended St Gabriel and St Raphael RC school in Tonypandy as a youngster where he loved playing sport particularly rugby union where he showed great promise playing at scrum half.
Paul gained a degree in economics at Aberystwyth University before spending a year in London working as a computer programmer.
He then spent a year in a kibbutz in Israel before working in Holland and Albany in New York.
Upon returning to the Rhondda he found temporary employment as an assistant social worker before setting up a private computer training company called Village Computers
Paul was then instrumental in setting up the Porth based Telecentre and Business School (TABS) which became hugely successful in helping people learn skills and gain confidence to achieve what they wanted in life.
Because of his tireless work in the community Paul won several awards and one of his proudest moments was when he won the Leading Wales Award for Leadership in Social Enterprise which saw him invited to a Queens Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
In 2013 Paul visited a recycling centre in Swansea where he first became aware of the Men’s Shed initiative.
He saw the value of Men’s Shed as a means of combating loneliness and isolation amongst older people and with this in mind he set up a company called Shednet aimed at setting up Sheds in the area.
He helped to set up Porth Men’s Shed and Porth Women’s Shed.
One of the Sheds that he helped set up which was really close to Paul’s heart was the Dewi Sant Men’s Shed.
Dewi Sant Men’s Shed secretary Dave Edwards said:”Paul will never be forgotten.
“We are still coming to terms with his loss.
“He inspired other people with his boundless energy and commitment in supporting not only the Men’s Shed initiative but several other community projects.”