NEW ROSS SWIMMING CLUB MARKING 40 YEARS IN THE COMMUNITY
OLYMPIANS AND NATIONAL AND REGIONAL WINNERS HAVE MADE HEADLINES FOR THE CLUB, BUT IT IS THE CLUB VOLUNTEERS’ PERSEVERANCE THAT HAS ENSURED ITS SURVIVIAL, WRITES DAVID LOOBY
T 10 a. m on Sunday, March 13, 1977, children from all over New Ross town and environs descended on Kennedy Memorial Pool in Barrack Lane to register as a member of what was to become New Ross Swimming Club.
In fact, the attraction of a dedicated swim club was so popular, that in little over a month, the committee had to limit new membership until further pool time could be secured.
Forty years later, New Ross Swimming Club is stronger than ever, producing national title winning athletes at all age categories.
Over the years the club has had many successes – too many to name individually – with many of Ireland’s best international swimmers coming from this County Wexford town. Two Olympians emerged from the club having forged their career in New Ross.
Following in the footsteps of his older brothers and sisters, Olympian Adrian O’Connor first joined the club in 1980.
‘My first galas included places like Portarlington, Navan, Athy,’ he recalls. ‘My first trip away trip was in Swindon in 1980.’
Adrian, known to many as Zorro, says that getting selected for the Europeans, worlds and finally the Olympics in Atlanta Georgia in 1996 (in which he competed in the 100m and 200m backstroke) were obvious highlights and a culmination of the hard work put in in years of training.
New Ross Swimming Club holds many memories for the current masters’ swimmer. The Community Games finals in Mosney were always a highlight and most talked about weekend of the year, along with the mischief that went on. Friendships within the club and (friendly) rivalries with other clubs were great drivers.
‘I’m sure many other club members will remember playing ‘Squash’ at the back of Kennedy Memorial during the summer,’ he added.
Looking back, Adrian said swimming gave him an opportunity to travel and see new places. He credits the competitive nature of the club and swimming regime to making studying and exams much easier.
‘Swimming is a happy legacy. To this day I still swim almost every day and enjoy it as much as ever. The focus, the determination and organisation that was needed to succeed is something that makes current challenges in life much easier – the working day now, while demanding, is nothing like the demands of swimming and school and college’.
Ballinaboola native Grainne Murphy also showed remarkable promise from an early age with the club. An accomplished junior athlete, she was a medallist at both European Youth Olympics and European Juniors and was awarded Texaco Young Sportstar Award 2009.
Successful also at senior level, Grainne won silver medal in the 1,500 metres Freestyle at the 2010 European Aquatics Championships.
She qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. After swimming in the heats of the 400m freestyle, however, Grainne suffered from glandular fever and was forced to withdraw.
She broke many of Michelle Smith’s national records and Grainne’s own records still stand in many events which is testament to her awesome talent. Though now retired Grainne is still a great role model for the club’s young swimmers.
Built on a solid teaching foundation, the club
has always been competitive in nature. It has also been the basis of skilled young people who have taken to the beaches as lifeguards, or pools as swim teachers and coaches across the world.
Club spokesperson Amy Allen said to succeed at local and regional gala’s is important. ‘ The dedication to train over 16 hours at the top level per week and of course early morning training – always horrible to have to get up - but a great feeling afterwards, is vital.’
The club, like the town, went through dark times but events have never defined the club, the swimmers, the parents and the volunteers who have been the strength to meet the challenges that have beset the club during the 40 years.
Pat Keane, (a club committee member from 2009 to 2014), shares some of his memories with the club.
‘I joined the committee of the swimming club in 2009 and subsequently became chairperson and treasurer. It was a difficult time with the cost of training at the pool were rising and modern swimming requires a great deal of water time to achieve success at all levels. During this time, it has to be said that we received great support from local councillors, particularly Niamh FitzGibbon, which helped keep any increases at a manageable rate.’
A high point during this period was The Gathering event in June 2013 when the club invited all past members to join them for a special club Swim Gala, which fittingly was the last to be held at the old John F Kennedy Memorial pool.
‘We held our last competitive gala in Kennedy Memorial in April, 2013, and on Sunday, October 26 of that year we entered the Apex pool for our first session. And what a magnificent day that was.’ Describing the Apex as a superb pool and gym facility and a very fitting home for New Ross Swimming Club, Mr Keane said unfortunately the club’s time at the Apex was to be short lived initially when the roof came off the new complex during a major storm on Wednesday, February 12, 2014. ‘Nobody realised at the time, the impact that this one day was to have on New Ross Swimming Club. However, over the next few days, reality crept in very quickly. We had no home, no place to swim and train. Our committee and coaches kicked into action very quickly and soon we were exploring some alternative options. We settled on two pools, the Brandon Hotel pool in New Ross and the Crystal Pool in Waterford. We thank them most sincerely for their support and generosity as they helped us through one of our most difficult times as a club and for this we owe them a significant depth of gratitude.’
What followed was a very hard and demanding time for the club’s swimmers, parents, coaches and committee members alike.
‘Swim times for different squads had to be totally reorganised in new locations. This involved significant extra travel time for swimmers and coaches, and at new session times that could not suit everyone.
‘ The impact on membership was devastating with a 50 per cent fall out over a short period of time. I know that some people will think that the club could have closed during that period, but we never even came close. It was never a consideration. The club’s survival is testament to the passion and determination of the committee, the coaches and the remaining club members and parents who rallied together and set about a number of fundraising initiatives unprecedented in the club’s history.’ When the Apex reopened on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, the club finally had a home again
in New Ross. ‘A highlight for all of us all was to continue watching the development of swimmers who joined the club as young children and progressed steadily to become competent and talented swimmers competing successfully at national and in some cases at international level. There is no doubt that as a committee member of the swimming club life is never boring. However in my time at the club, the high points took place ironically during the lows for the club in that I witnessed committee members, club members and parents and coaching team rise up against adversity. There was definitely a sense of “When the going gets tough, The tough get going”.’
What is equally amazing is that during this period, the swimmers, under the guidance of head coach Fran Ronan and her team, maintained the culture of success always associated with New Ross Swimming club.
Current chairman Pat Daly believes that the club is now in a very healthy state. ‘We have a membership in the region of 70 members, which is being increased month on month. We have gained extra lanes in some sessions. We still carry on the tradition of a competitive club, which has been rewarded by continually having a number of swimmers representing Leinster swimming at various competitions such as: Stockport International meet, Ulster Age Groups in Bangor and the Irish Interprovincial Schools Championships.
‘We have had record number of swimmers attending Irish Short Course Championships in Lisburn, the Dave McCullough International Meet in Bangor, Irish Long Course Championships in The National Aquatic Centre, National Division 2 Limerick and National Division 1 in The National Aquatic Centre. This is all due to the fantastic commitment that swimmers and coaches have given to the club.’
The club are now in a position to offer training sessions to multi-classification swimmers on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Mr Daly thanked the Apex, Waterford Crystal swimming pool, Four Star Pizza, and all of the club’s sponsors, New Ross Municipal District council, coaches, the committee (past and present) and parents for all of their help and hard work in getting New Ross Swimming Club to where it is today, which is ‘one of the best and much admired clubs in the country’.
Like every club, fundraising and caretaking are critical. Successive committees have driven the club forward with initiatives to improve the experience and the management of the club. They have engaged with all relevant stakeholders at municipal and county level, pool management, local cusinesses, parents and the club is run for the best
‘We have lucky that supportive year, we pro- are involved in a Split the will also run a to help
‘Previ- our very com- Swim Ireland, to ensure safely, and effectively, interest of all. been tremendously businesses have been so of our activities. Each duce a club calendar. We with other local clubs Pot initiative and we major event each year pay for lane time. ous initiatives from active fundraising mittee include the KUBE which would not have been so so sucessful without help from the Rotary Club at a time when we were really struggling. Annual cycles and 5k runs have always been well supported, as well as last year’s novelty mice racing evening.’ On Monday, May 1, the club will host a 5 km and a 10 km run at Kennedy Park. ‘Four Star Pizza in the Irishtown have also been very supportive of the club this year and sponsored new club t-shirts in the traditional navy and green club colours for all swimmers and coaches, so we thank them sincerely.’
At present, the club competes at many levels at local developmental swim meets and at regional and national level. Many of these galas are based on achieving nationally recognised times and each swimmer will be training towards improvements and gains in their times to gain and entry and be seeded as high as possible at these competitions.
The club works closely with Leinster Swimming and Swim Ireland to deliver their High Performance plan, and was instrumental in supporting the set up with other Wexford Clubs South Leinster Squad which is now hosted by The Apex.
‘ This squad allows further development along the aquatic pathway, but supports other clubs and their coaches to learn and work together to achieve success.
‘ The club engages in several personal development initiatives with the swimmers. Team talks on nutrition, motivation and rest are regular components. Swimmers take part in gym training weekly, and some of squads take yoga once weekly. Annual trips to activity centres such as Shielbaggan are always popular and a part of the team building programme.’
Looking forward Mr Daly said New Ross Swimming Club has survived and is working again towards providing swimmers from New Ross and the surrounding local and regional area the opportunity to take a journey which can bring them becoming great young people who are independent, resilient, committed, and healthy successful adults.
‘It’s not just about the swimming,’ he said.
THE CLUB ENGAGES IN SEVERAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES WITH THE SWIMMERS