Massive sports hall plans are outlined

April 1993

Moves are afoot to build a massive sports hall in Enniscorthy which would provide a huge boost to the local economy. The £500,000 development was outlined by members of the Slaney Olympic Athletic Club on Monday evening.

A six-lane indoor running track would be at the heart of the new stadium, which would put the Cathedral Town at the centre of sport in Leinster. Club officials Michael O’Leary, Paul Kinsella, Paddy Byrne and Jim O’Sullivan sketched their plans to town councillors and journalists on Monday evening.

They sought a four-acre site for the development, with the Cherryorchard area believed to be the prime contender. They stressed that most of the work, including the specialist tartan track, could be undertaken by local contractors.

The concert was greeted with enthusiasm by the councillors, who were keen to see such a project go ahead in their town ahead of possible rivals such as Kilkenny and Carlow. The building would put Enniscorthy on a par with Montreal, where the recent indoor athletics championships were held.

However, such a facility would also put the town in line for big events to be staged by other sports, such as basketball, boxing and tennis. The existing four-lane venue in Nenagh is regularly used for indoor training by the Tipperary hurling squad. Such a large building on Slaneyside would provide an obvious setting for crowd-pulling concerts and exhibitions too.

The Slaney Olympic officials have expressed optimism that they can raise at least £100,000 for the project locally. However, the bulk of the finance would have to be found from the National Lottery, Government grants, and Brussels.

The spin-off for local hotels, guest houses and restaurants would be enormous, according to the enthusiastic Slaney Olympic representatives. And they were given a keen welcome for their plans by UDC Chairman Paddy Wildes, who commented: ‘We are certainly very supportive. It would be very attractive both financially and culturally.’

Council engineering staff will be asked to identify possible sites, while Cllrs John Murphy and Sean Og Doyle have been delegated to sit on a special sub-committee with club representatives.