Displaying items by tag: LSSIF

6th December 2023

National Watersports Campus Plans Get a Boost From Top-Up Funding Pot of Over €37M for Major Sports Projects

The proposed National Watersports Campus for Dun Laoghaire has received a major boost in the form of a €410,000-plus top-up grant under the Large-Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).

Sport Minister Catherine Martin and Minister of State Thomas Byrne made the announcement on Wednesday (6 December) of some €37.6 million in additional funding that will benefit 27 individual projects.

The new funding is being provided in response to delays experienced by grantees arising from the pandemic and construction inflation, following engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

Dun Laoghaire’s planned watersports campus gets an additional €410,952 on top of its original €441,893 allocation under the LSSIF in 2020 to fund a feasibility study, for a total of €852,845.

In other watersport-related projects, the National Rowing Centre in Inniscarra, Co Cork receives a top-up of €66,562 after its initial allocation of €613,049.

The ministers have also confirmed that a new round of the LSSIF will open for applications in the first half of 2024.

And for the first time there be a requirement for all successful applicants to publish their Similar Access Policies, in respect of men and women having access to the facilities on similar terms, in order to be eligible for a “top-up” allocation drawdown.

Published in Dun Laoghaire Watersports Campus

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.