Is pumping millions into the America's Cup in Cork the best use of Government funds?

THERE is an impressive mural at the entrance to the former Cork-Crosshaven railway line tunnel in Monkstown of the legendary Captain Richard Roberts declaring that he would “go to sea in a bathtub”.

Revered as a ‘local man’ in Cork Harbour, Roberts came from nearby Passage West, and made maritime history when he commanded the SS Sirius, which became the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic to the US.

The quotation reflects his love of the sea. The mural was commissioned by Cork County Council and completed by artists from The Walls Project.

Walking past it on Sunday, while watching boats sailing in the sunshine in Monkstown Bay, I thought of how his reference to a ‘bathtub’ reminds me of the small craft in which many young people are introduced to sailing.

Optimist dinghies are often referred to as ‘like bathubs’.

‘Oppies’ are one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world. Designed in 1947, more than 150,000 are sailed in 120 countries. The fleet at Monkstown Bay Sailing Club has grown through increased interest in marine recreation. The ‘oppies’ are also popular at the RCYC in Crosshaven. Cove Sailing Club has been building up a fleet.

The mural of Captain Roberts also brought to mind the debate about whether the America’s Cup should be held in Cork Harbour.

Since the event heightened its commercial profile, in 2007, there has been a list of cities that hoped to profit from holding it. This required investment, based on a best estimate of the return. For Valencia, in Spain, in 2007 and 2010; San Francisco, in the US, in 2013, and Auckland, in New Zealand, in 2021, the return failed to deliver on all expectations. Locations that staged it have benefited from infrastructure provision, but they are still paying off the cost. Valencia, one of Cork’s opponents, pulled out of the competition to hold the 2024 cup.

New Zealand is the leading sailing nation in the world. That its government refuses to give the country’s organisers of the America’s Cup the money they want to keep it in Auckland does raise questions. The core issue is not, initially, sailing, but how much money the organisers can obtain.

Competing to win the America’s Cup costs many millions of euros, which has been proving harder to raise. The number of entrants has dropped. To counteract this, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club and Team New Zealand, the cup holders, have announced a Youth and Women’s Series.

Media reporting of bids to host the cup have not detailed the attempts in New Zealand to remove its leading figure, Grant Dalton, a renowned world sailor, whom I once met while crewing aboard NCB Ireland during the round-the-world race. Mark Dunphy, the chief executive and chairman of Greymouth Petroleum there, which owns gas and oil fields, claims to have a consortium to fund the event in Auckland, but only if Dalton is not involved. The Amerca’s Cup organisers have, so far, rejected this.

Ireland’s widely experienced sailing commentator, WM Nixon, raised questions about Cork’s bid in an assessment piece, entitled, ‘Have We Irish Become The Mugs Of The Auld Mug’s Game?’, on the national maritime website, AFLOAT.ie, this week. By its history, the America’s Cup is widely known as ‘The Auld Mug’. 

Two of the country’s senior government ministers are involved in whether the event should be held in Cork, both political representatives for the area. Simon Coveney, the foreign affairs minister, has publicly led the campaign, while Michael McGrath, the public expenditure minister, has to decide whether the Government could fund the cost. This varies, according to reports and which side people are on, between €100m and €200m.

Irish governments do not have a strong record of appreciating the marine sphere, despite using a phrase I popularised on radio, ‘This island nation’. Hundreds of young people learned the comprehensive values of sail training through the Asgard programme, which government closed. It would not give the €3m insurance compensation money received for the sinking of the revered national tall ship to buy a replacement. It has not helped voluntary efforts to fund a new tall ship. Marine leisure facilities are not sufficiently financed around the coast and could provide big tourist benefits if they were.

The America’s Cup issue has divided public opinion. Sailing is again being labelled as ‘elitist’.

Questions raised about holding the Amerca’s Cup in Cork Harbour have been demeaned as “begrudgery”. There are issues of concern: If the Irish government has many millions to invest in the marine sphere, is putting it into a maritime event that the organisers want to move overseas because their own government won’t support it to the level they want the best use of that money?

If the event left a financial burden behind, what impact would that have on sailing and developing the marine leisure sector?

Email:tommacsweeneymarine@gmail.com