Dublin Port invests €500k in new Seafarers' Centre

Dublin Port Company has opened a Seafarers’ Centre on the site of the old Odlums flour mill.

Housed in the former Odlums workers’ canteen, the centre will provide a base for vital services to sailors docking in the port, and will support more than 7,500 visiting seafarers a year arriving from all over the world.

Dublin Port has invested €500,000 in the centre and the International Transport Workers’ Federation has committed €55,000 in funding towards its completion.

Sailors - typically from countries such as India, China, Ukraine, Russia and the Philippines - will get free Wi-Fi to contact family and loved ones while ashore, cooking and dining facilities, and a relaxation and recreation space including a pool table, library and TV den with beanbags.

The Anglican Mission to Seafarers (The Flying Angel) and the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea (Stella Maris) will also operate together at the centre to provide spiritual guidance and friendship.

Chief Executive of Dublin Port Company Eamonn O’Reilly said: “We are delighted to open Dublin Port’s new purpose-built Seafarers’ Centre.

"It means that Dublin Port can provide sailors working thousands of miles from home with a space to rest, socialise and connect with family and friends under the care of Stella Maris and the Flying Angel."