Locals protest against closure of Garda College swimming pool in Templemore

The closure of the swimming pool at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, will leave the relationship between gardaí and the community in “tatters”, locals have warned.

Residents who learned to swim at the Garda pool will take to the streets next week to protest against its closure to the community after over 60 years in use.

The decision to close the facility, which opened in 1965, over the winter months is intended to save on energy costs, but locals fear they will lose access permanently once Garda training needs and savings are assessed.

Local resident Deirdre Ryan, who is behind the We Just Want to Swim — Templemore campaign, said the town wants its children to have the opportunity to learn the life-saving skill as previous generations did.

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“I learned how to swim here and used to love Friday nights when all the friends would meet up for a dip in the pool. It was really the social centre for many children,” she said.

“The pool closed during Covid-19 and reopened last March. It had been using a licensing system for a few years for schools who had to employ their own instructors.

“However the schools only had a few weeks for classes until they closed for the summer holidays in June. The pool also closed at this time and hasn’t opened since.”

A local swim instructor applied for a licence to resume classes on Friday evenings and 800 children expressed interest, she said, but the classes were deemed to be commercial and the application was refused.

“Templemore has a population of 3,000 people and sharing the swimming pool between gardaí and residents has become a tradition,” Ms Ryan said. “It has allowed all to mix and therefore build up a relationship between gardaí and residents.

“That relationship is now in tatters. We feel that our children have just been cast aside from a pool that is otherwise fully functional and underutilised. We would like the college to liaise with sustainable energy communities to find a more efficient solution to the energy costs that would not impact the lives of the children.”

Deirdre said that the pool’s closure was the latest in distancing the force from the town.

“For many years, the Garda College supported the town through buying all its meat and fresh produce from local traders and offered the use of its sporting grounds and pitches to local clubs, she said.

“These supports no longer exist. Yet when additional Garda recruits needed extra accommodation, the community readily opened their homes to them because of that long-held connection.”

The campaign group will stage a protest in Templemore on Saturday November 5th.

A statement from the Office of Public Works, which owns the building, said: “The OPW is aware that the Garda College has been considering the closure of the pool during the coming winter months due to low demand and as a measure to reduce the energy and related costs associated with running the facilities.

“The OPW was consulted as the owner of the property. Any decision around the day-to-day operation of facilities at the College is a matter for the Garda authorities who must take account of issues relating to the efficient use of the property and related administration/running costs.”

Gardaí said licences are issued for community use on a not-for-profit basis, but that internal use is the priority concern in decision-making.

“Any decision to reopen the pool will primarily take into consideration demand by An Garda Síochána for training within the Garda College and the wider current energy cost implications,” a spokesperson said.