Midleton may have to settle for outdoor swimming pool

Residents in Midleton, which is set to become the largest town in Co Cork, may have to settle for an outdoor swimming pool instead of an indoor leisure centre.

The population of the East Cork town is set to rocket in the next few years and it won’t be long before it takes over the number one spot from Carrigaline.

People in Midleton are becoming increasingly concerned that the sporting and recreational infrastructure in the town is not going to keep up with projected population increases.

A number of local sports organisations have lobbied the county council on this issue.

Top of the agenda is a leisure centre. However, the reaction coming from some council officials in the area aren’t exactly positive.

Senior Cork County Council officials are undertaking a review of municipal-run swimming pools in the region.

There are currently five of them under the control of the local authority — in Cobh, Youghal, Fermoy, Mallow, and Dunmanway.

Council officials have previously said that the proximity of the leisure centres in Cobh and Youghal should suffice Midleton’s needs.

On foot of this, Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern, who runs an auctioneering business in Midleton, is to ask council officials to look at an alternative.

At next month’s East Cork municipal district council meeting, she will table a motion asking officials to look at developing a lido, similar to the one in Carrignavar.

“Recently, an excellent initiative, in conjunction with Midleton College, Cork County Council, Cork Sports Partnership, and Swim Ireland, was brought to the Midleton area. It brought the very popular Swimmin’ Women programme to Midleton College outdoor pool, which was fully booked out in its pilot programme,” 

Ms Ahern said.

“This was a great initiative in Midleton. I have a motion submitted for September’s municipal district council meeting, following months of engaging with the local municipal district office, to see if there could be progression for an outdoor lido, similar to the Carrignavar one, that can be introduced in the Midleton area.

“Currently, we have no public swimming pool in Midleton.

“But, given the interest achieved in this event, it warrants a feasibility study to see if there is scope for a project like this.

“While there is a call for an indoor swimming pool, the introduction of a lido pool would be a great asset for the East Cork area.”

There has been a long-running campaign in Cork to bring an outdoor pool to the country’s second city, given the proximity to the harbour and the huge interest in open-water swimming in the county since covid.

Last September, following a public consultation period, Cork City Council revealed that it had received more than 450 submissions supporting the provision of a lido on the riverbank or within the River Lee.

The former Lee Baths in Cork city were located on what is now the Kingsley Hotel and operated from 1934 to 1986. It was the main swimming spot for the city, with a pool that was 50 yards long on the banks of the river.