As Daniel Wiffen and Mona McSharry were winning Olympic medals at La Defense Arena in Paris, Dolphin Swimming Club in Cork were considering how the 50-metre swimming pool they bought earlier this year, exactly like the one in Paris, could be installed and made operational.
In May, four 40ft trucks arrived at a warehouse in Douglas stacked with the stripped-down swimming pool used in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The organisers used two pools, one for the competition and one for warming up and down.
After the games, Birmingham City Council deconstructed the pool, did not wish to pay storage costs and approached Swim Ireland to see if they would buy the pool. Clubs in Cork got together to see if a joint venture could be worked out but it ended without agreement, and Dolphin decided to go ahead with the purchase themselves.
Normally, a pool of that quality would cost €1.1 million but approximately €100,000 – a significant financial risk for the club – was enough to make the purchase and ship it to Cork. The pool is modular and can be built in a short time. The one in Paris was put together in a matter of weeks on Racing 92′s rugby pitch in the club grounds. It will be taken down after the Paralympics for rugby to resume.
“Most people think you dig a hole in the ground and put re-enforced concrete into it,” said Dolphin SC chairman Giuseppe Whelan. “That was they way it was done up to five years ago. Now they are modular. They are built like Lego bricks. The pool in Paris, exactly the same design and model, went up in four weeks.”
The club has written to both the Department of Sport and Cork County Council. Subject to conditions, the county council was agreeable in principle to leasing the swimming club six acres at Brooklodge, Glanmire to house and build the pool with Swim Ireland. The agreement would be for a period not less than 35 years.
The club also applied for the State’s Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF), which requires the applicant to contribute a minimum of 30 per cent of total project costs.
The club estimates that €3 million is required and didn’t meet the criteria for LSSIF funding, leaving them with an Olympic-sized swimming pool on pallets in Douglas. Their next move is uncertain.
“We would fully support the club in the purchase of the pool as progressive and out-of-the-box thinking,” said Swim Ireland director of operations Mary McMorrow.
“We also recognise and appreciate the offer of land from Cork County Council. We will continue to work with the club to get the pool built.”
There are currently no Olympic-standard swimming pools in Cork. Dolphin SC have 200 competitive swimmers, who travel to Limerick to use the pool in the University of Limerick, often leaving home at 4am to train there.
They have six swimmers on various national squads and are hoping a creative solution can be found, following Tánaiste Micheál Martin’s recent funding announcement.
Mr Martin said an additional €400 million will be announced for sport in the coming weeks, with the Sports Capital and Equipment Programmes expected to get at least €250 million, while the next round of the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund is expected to see an additional €120 million.
Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said on Thursday it was “it seems extraordinary that an Olympic sized pool is just sitting in storage in Douglas”.
The Cork South-Central TD said there is a huge opportunity to capitalise on Ireland’s recent Olympic success, not least in the pool.
“This could be the starting point for the next Mona McSharry or Daniel Wiffen, and I would urge the councils and the relevant agencies to work creatively with the Dolphin swimming club to make this a reality,” he said.
“If additional funding is going to announced in the coming week, it’s important it has the flexibility to support projects such as this which would be a crucial part of sports infrastructure in Cork.”
A spokeswoman for Tánaiste Micheal Martin said that Irelands performance at the Olympics “reflects continued and consistent investment in sport - particularly in infrastructure and people.”
“The Tánaiste has been consistently supportive when it comes to improving sporting facilities in Cork and right across the country,” she said, adding that Ireland’s first national swimming strategy will be launched shortly along with an action plan which will focus on infrastructure and facilities.
Úna McCarthy, a Fine Gael councillor and candidate for Cork South Central in the general election, said: “It is unacceptable that Cork does not have Olympic-sized swimming pools. We need more investment in large scale sports infrastructure in Cork. I welcome Cork County Council’s offer of land to host the pool.
“This is a fantastic opportunity because the pool is already in storage, ready to be erected. I would encourage, the government, Swim Ireland, Dolphin Swimming Club, Cork County Council and all parties involved to collaborate in order to support Dolphin Swimming Club in achieving this goal.”
