Curragh swimming pool opens to local schools and community groups

MINISTER for Agriculture, Martin Heydon TD, announced that The Curragh swimming pool owned by the Defence Forces is now open to local community groups and local schools three days a week.

The announcement was made on social media late in the evening on Wednesday, 21 January. That morning, only hours before, cllr Peggy O’Dwyer brought the same piece forward as a motion to Kildare County Council at the monthly meeting of Kildare-Newbridge MD.

In her motion, she asked that the council writes to the Minister for Defence for an update on access to the Curragh swimming pool for community groups.

Other cllrs in the MD agreed wholeheartedly with her motion, including Cathaoirleach Noel Heavey who said: “Public spaces should be shared with the maximum number of people. It’s not fair, facilities are so scarce,” and cllr Noel Connolly who said: “I learned how to swim there. It’s a fantastic facility and should be shared.” 

Before pen was even put to paper, access had been granted as announced by Minister Heydon online.

The pool, which was once used by the public up until the Covid-19 lockdown, has recently seen refurbishments including upgrades in the changing rooms and showers, and has hired some staff to facilitate small groups of people.

While the pool has not granted access to the general public, the access to local groups and schools is an important step for locals who have been without a public pool facility for since March 2020.

“I along with my colleague Cllr Peggy O Dwyer, have pursued the matter of staffing resources at the pool with the Minister for Defence, department officials and the defence forces to reopen access for civilian use,” said Minister Heydon.

“I’ll continue to advocate for further access being granted to the public in the future and also the ambition for a public pool for the Newbridge/Kildare area, but this is an important step for a facility that was much missed by many local people since the pandemic.”