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Displaying items by tag: National Watersports campus

4th April 2023

National Watersports Campus Plans Discussed During Taoiseach's Visit to Dún Laoghaire Harbour

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar heard plans about the new national watersports campus in Dún Laoghaire Harbour during a visit to the east coast port last Friday. 

Following consultation with stakeholders, a working document that outlines the planned National Watersports Campus has been published by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, in partnership with Irish Sailing and Diving Ireland.

Senator Barry Ward of Fine Gael said during the visit, a number of important issues were discussed, as well as the plan for the campus.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, an award of €400,000 under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Grant scheme in 2019 funded a study on the feasibility of the proposal for Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Carlisle Pier has been proposed as a location for the project that would involve a venue for national and international events and a high-performance watersports coaching centre in the Coal Harbour area.

But the campus is envisaged to encompass the whole harbour area from Seapoint to Sandycove, as a hub of activity for the entire community, including key Coal Harbour upgrades.

It would also involve an education centre for schools, community groups and clubs, and a public slipway for recreational craft users who are not members of the harbour sailing clubs.

For more, see the concept document HERE.

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17th February 2023

Dun Laoghaire's National Watersports Campus Concept Document Published

Following consultation with stakeholders, a working document that outlines the planned National Watersports Campus has been published by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, in partnership with Irish Sailing and Diving Ireland.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, an award of €400,000 under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Grant scheme in 2019 funded a study on the feasibility of the proposal for Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Carlisle Pier has been proposed as a location for the project that would involve a high-performance watersports coaching centre and a venue for national and international events.

But the campus is envisaged to encompass the whole harbour area from Seapoint to Sandycove, as a hub of activity for the entire community, including key Coal Harbour upgrades.

It would also involve an education centre for schools, community groups and clubs, and a public slipway for recreational craft users who are not members of the harbour sailing clubs.

For more, see the concept document HERE.

Published in Dun Laoghaire Watersports Campus
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26th February 2021

Marine Version of the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown is on the Cards for Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Plans for a National Watersports Campus for Dun Laoghaire Harbour is part of the scope of an extensive economic survey being conducted in the Dublin Bay town.

As Times.ie reports today, consultation on the future development Dun Laoghaire’s town and harbour may represent the “last real opportunity for public input”, Cllr Juliet O’Connell (Lab) says.

Three online surveys conducted by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council which have a deadline of Sunday (Feb 28) aim to gauge opinion on developments, including the national watersports campus.

Last year, the Government awarded €400,000 to the local authority to conduct a feasibility study on the watersports campus, which would be a marine version of the national sports campus in Abbotstown, Dublin.

Under Project 2040, the State’s national development plan, the Government set aside €100 million for sports infrastructure.

The National Sports Policy, published in 2018, established the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF) to provide exchequer support for sports facility projects.

Dun Laoghaire’s Carlisle pier has been proposed as a location and would involve a high-performance watersports coaching centre and a venue for national and international events.

It would also involve an education centre for schools, community groups and clubs, and a public slipway for recreational craft users who are not members of the harbour sailing clubs.

Currently, Dun Laoghaire has one public slipway in the Coal harbour which is not accessible at all stages of the tide.

If approved for planning, the campus would complement the Dun Laoghaire baths which are currently being refurbished by the local authority.

Loss of revenue since the cancellation of regular Irish Sea ferry sailings between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead, a long with increased interest in watersports during the Covid-19 pandemic are factors influencing the local authority’s move.

The campus plan is being spearheaded by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the Irish Sailing Association and has been endorsed by a number of Irish watersport national governing bodies, along with clubs and activity providers.

Details of the timeline for stage one of the project are due to be presented by sailing representative Paddy Boyd at an online public meeting at 7 pm tonight hosted on Facebook Live by Cllr O’Connell.

More on Times.ie here

The three surveys are available here

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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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