Displaying items by tag: Lido

1st December 2022

George’s Dock Lido Campaigners Reveal Conceptual Images of Proposal for Heated Outdoor Pool in Dublin City Centre

Campaigners for a heated outdoor swimming pool at the site of Dublin City Council’s ill-fated whitewater rafting course proposal have released conceptual images to visualise how it could transform the Docklands area.

Last year the two doctors behind the plans garnered more than 4,000 signatures backing their concept for the outdoor pool.

They’ve since teamed up with architects at lido specialists Studio Octopi, who provided the artist’s impressions of what the George’s Dock Lido could look like.

“We believe these images confirm the wonderful opportunity that exists for the people of Dublin to enjoy a world-class swimming facility at this publicly owned historic site,” the George’s Dock Lido Campaign says.

We're delighted to announce the release of our conceptual images of what a 100% public swimming facility could look like at George's Dock. Providing something for all citizens. The images created by @StudioOctopi demonstrate the ambition we should have for this public site. pic.twitter.com/ftOWjXspSx
— GeorgesDockLido, Dublin (@GeorgesDockLido) November 30, 2022

Their concept comprises a 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool, heated for use in all seasons, with a smaller “learning pool” and a diving pool with boards and platforms.

The design also features a building to include saunas, community function rooms, a restaurant, café and viewing gallery as well as “water gardens” with public seating and performance areas.

And the campaign says that sustainability is central to their concept, as the lido could be heated with water from the Ringsend incinerator via the Dublin District Heating System.

The campaign has also hit back at counter-proposal for the site that would split it between a public pool and a training area for emergency services, arguing that such a facility “would be unused for much of the year”.

Published in News Update

Tagged under

The Kingstown to Queenstown Yacht Race or 'K2Q', previously the Fastnet 450

The Organising Authority ("OA") are ISORA & SCORA in association with The National Yacht Club & The Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The Kingstown to Queenstown Race (K2Q Race) is a 260-mile offshore race that will start in Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown), around the famous Fastnet Rock and finish in Cork Harbour at Cobh (formerly Queenstown).

The K2Q race follows from the successful inaugural 'Fastnet 450 Race' that ran in 2020 when Ireland was in the middle of the COVID Pandemic. It was run by the National Yacht Club, and the Royal cork Yacht Club were both celebrating significant anniversaries. The clubs combined forces to mark the 150th anniversary of the National Yacht Club and the 300th (Tricentenary) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Of course, this race has some deeper roots. In 1860 the first-ever ocean yacht race on Irish Waters was held from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) to Queenstown (now Cobh).

It is reported that the winner of the race was paid a prize of £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, and had sixteen boats racing.

In 2022, the winning boat will be awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world.

The 2022 race will differ from the original course because it will be via the Fastnet Rock, so it is a c. 260m race, a race distance approved by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club as an AZAB qualifier.

A link to an Afloat article written by WM Nixon for some history on this original race is here.

The aim is to develop the race similarly to the Dun Laoghaire–Dingle Race that runs in alternate years.

Fastnet 450 in 2020

The South Coast of Ireland Racing Association, in association with the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay and the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork, staged the first edition of this race from Dun Laoghaire to Cork Harbour via the Fastnet Rock on August 22nd 2020.

The IRC race started in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, August 22nd 2020. It passed the Muglin, Tuscar, Conningbeg and Fastnet Lighthouses to Starboard before returning to Cork Harbour and passing the Cork Buoy to Port, finishing when Roches's Point bears due East. The course was specifically designed to be of sufficient length to qualify skippers and crew for the RORC Fastnet Race 2021.