The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has announced a grant of almost €500,000 towards the refurbishment of Mallow Swimming Pool and an extension to its facilities. The funding was announced on Tuesday as part of the Sports Capital Grants, and followed an application by Cork County Council. Another grant of roughly €500,000 had already been sourced through SEAI grants, which finances measures to increase energy efficiency in buildings.
Welcoming the announcement, Cllr. Gearóid Murphy, said: “Mallow Swimming Pool is a fantastic resource for the entire North Cork area and it will be great to see it upgraded. I use the pool regularly myself and I know that Mallow’s many swimming and water-based clubs will get great use out of the new facilities when they are built. I would like to congratulate the Council officials for their initiative on this application and I will be supporting the Council in any way that I can to acquire the remaining funding for this project.”
Mallow Swimming Pool has been an integral part of the Mallow community since it first opened in the 1970s following a major fundraising project by a local committee. The pool was strongly supported for many years, and it closed in the mid-1990s for a major upgrade. Mallow has always had a strong tradition of swimming, particularly in water safety with people doing open-water training at the Bulwarks for many years before the construction of the original pool. In the late 1990s, a swimming club was formed, named Mallow Swans Swimming Club, and this has since grown into a major club which enjoys great success at regional and national level. A masters swimming club was later formed to cater for older age groups and this has also enjoyed great success. The upgrade of the pool will be warmly welcomed by all, and though the work will necessitate the closure of the pool for a time, the end result will be a pool with greatly enhanced facilities.”