Latest closure of Dunmanway swimming pool ‘embarrassing’ 

€5.5m leisure centre's 'state-of-the-art' pool which opened six years ago is forced to shut again due to pumping system issue

Independent Councillor Declan Hurley said staff were advised to close Dunmanway pool on health and safety grounds due to a mechanical issue relating to a pumping system.  Picture: Denis Boyle

A state-of-the-art swimming pool which opened only six years ago in West Cork has been forced to close yet again.

The €5.5m leisure centre in Dunmanway, which opened in April 2017, has suffered several closures due to health and safety and staffing issues since it opened, much to the annoyance of locals.

Among previous issues was a build-up of calcium in the children’s pool which saw it closed in November 2019 for over a year, while the gym closed for more than five months last year.

Staffing issues resulted in limited opening hours for two years, prompting a local petition and, subsequently, a hiring campaign by Cork County Council in 2022.

Local Independent Councillor Declan Hurley said staff were advised to close the pool on Wednesday on health and safety grounds due to a mechanical issue relating to the pumping system.

Despite being dubbed a “state-of-the-art facility”, Mr Hurley said there has been a myriad of issues since it opened.

“There's always an amount of teething problems with new facilities when they start up, but we’re seven years on now and still having issues,” he said.

Mr Hurley said in addition to the build-up of calcium and the staffing issues, the facility has also suffered from leaks.

He said the latest closure is upsetting for the general public who use the pool daily, some of whom do so for medical reasons.

As it is centrally located in West Cork, Dunmanway’s pool draws scores of swimmers from towns without public pools, including Skibbereen, Clonakilty, and Bandon.

What's the point of having a state-of-the-art pool in the centre of West Cork if it's been closed more often than it’s open?

“It's disappointing and, to be honest, it's embarrassing as well to have this in the news all the time for operational reasons,” he said.

Mr Hurley hopes the latest closure is the last of the facility’s teething problems.

“Whenever something does happen, it's for a long period of time. It's weeks rather than days, and at the end of the day, it's the public money that built this, and if the public put money into something, at the very least they should have it there to be used on a regular basis,” he said.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council said that due to “unforeseen essential repairs”, the pool was closed with immediate effect.

They said it will reopen as soon as possible.