Swimming against a flood of errors

The National Aquatic Centre was planned in haste and will be repented as a financial drain for 20 years, writes Conor Ryan Investigative Correspondent

IT WAS spawned in a showboating spirit of manic machismo. A bullish government and benevolent backers became fixated on trophies to boast Ireland’s perceived brilliance to a global audience. A world-beating stadium was promised on a sprawling sporting campus.

To prove the colour of the country’s money, a snap decision was made to build Ireland’s first 50-metre swimming stadium.