Balance Pilates set to open new studio in Limerick

Founder claims studio, due to open on May 25, will seize on 'real gap' in the market

Kelly O’Neill of Balance Pilates: 'There's huge demand and not too many options at the moment in Limerick for wellness and health.'

The second largest Pilates studio group in Ireland is gearing up to open a new studio in Limerick.

While raising four children, Kelly O’Neill built Balance Pilates from the ground up.

She operates studios in Clane, Kildare Town, Blessington, Enfield, and Bray.

Now, Ms O’Neill is about to open another studio in Limerick on May 25 — her biggest one so far.

According to Ms O’Neill, there was a “real gap” in the market for a wellness hub in Limerick.

She said: “I just thought that Limerick was a very exciting kind of city at the moment. It’s very cosmopolitan, very vibrant.

“There’s a huge demand and not too many options at the moment in Limerick for wellness and health, especially something quite this high-end. So I just thought it’d be great opportunity for Limerick to have something like this.”

The Limerick studio is located at The Coach House on Henry St, and will be offering reformer Pilates, mat Pilates, barre, as well as yoga.

Ms O’Neill opened her first studio six years ago in Clane. At first, she taught all the classes — 25 of them each week.

“It was just myself; I taught all the classes,” she said. “We had about 25 classes a week.

“And then I started just employing instructors to help me out, then I opened a second studio two years later in Kildare Town.”

Rise in popularity

In recent years, Pilates has become more popular. For Ms O’Neill, the success is simply explained by the fact “it works”.

She said: “It has great benefits physically and mentally, and I think now we value both, especially females. Finding something like Pilates in general just makes your body respond better and feel better, it lifts your mood, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.

“I think it’s a real bonus to find something that is so multifunctional and doesn’t exhaust you. It doesn’t put a huge stress on your body. It’s not something that you have to dread every week.”

Pilates is also renowned to be good for fixing one’s posture — which comes in handy for those sitting at a desk all day. The best business advice Ms O’Neill has been given is to not be afraid to be adaptable.

She said: “Things don’t always go as you think they’re gonna go. And if you’re not adaptable, you get stuck, your business doesn’t grow, and you don’t move forward.

“That adaptability, I think, is what keeps a business thriving.”

Balance Studios will open in Limerick on May 25.