There are plans to demolish the Markievicz pool in Townsend Street to make way for the Metrolink station. A public meeting to oppose these plans takes place on Thursday 8th November at 7.30 in Liberty Hall/.
Thousands use this public pool and gym and local children learn to swim there. But so far, no announcements have been made for an alternative facility.
In a statement, Annette Mooney, the local People Before Profit representative said:
“It is a scandal that a public pool and apartments that accommodate up to 150 people in a city facing a housing crisis are set to be demolished. There are other less socially destructive alternatives available for Metrolink.
“The pool has just been renovated at the cost of more than €1 million of taxpayers’ money. Moreover, Dublin City Council has already stated in the past that there must be ‘a modern leisure facility which must include a 25 metre long by 6 lane wide swimming pool’ in the area.
“Yet there is no other public leisure centres with a 25 metre swimming pool in the Dublin city centre. The pool and gym in Trinity is private.
“Closing the pool goes against all recommendations on the need for more physical activity. A recent Healthy Ireland reports stated that ‘A large number of Irish people are not meeting the levels of physical activity recommended in the National Guidelines’. Access to gyms and swimming pools should not depend on the size of your wallet – it should be public and open to all.
“There are alternative locations for a Metrolink station which does not require the demolition of the swimming pool – such as a derelict Apollo house site which is nearby.”
