Fingal confirm new pool for Balbriggan

A new €10m public swimming pool is to be built in Balbriggan at Castlelands with the project now moving to the preliminary design and planning stages. It is expected the project will be ready to go to planning by the end of this year and, subject to funding, construction could commence by the end of 2026.

At long last, Fingal County Council made the announcement that a swimming pool is planned for Balbriggan. Previous initiatives over the years for a pool at Skerries in the 2000’s and Balbriggan rugby club in 2014 did not come to fruition, but the need for a pool has been strongly felt in north Fingal.

Recognising that while the town had expanded significantly but the town centre was neglected, Fingal Council launched a programme of regeneration. The ‘Our Balbriggan’ plan launched in 2018 with a series of consultations as to what residents felt was needed to improve the town as a place to live and work. Top of the list identified by many of the 4,000 people who took part was the need for a swimming pool.

The North Fingal Pool Campaign was set up following a well attended public meeting in 2018 and has lobbied consistently ever since then to keep the issue on the agenda. The campaign did a survey of local schools and found only 6/23 schools in north Fingal had swimming on the curriculum. The lack of a local swimming pool has deprived many children of a vital skill.

The campaign lobbied local councillors and TDs to progress the agenda of the need for a swimming pool in North Fingal. The campaign also met with Fingal Council Chief Executive and senior officials to establish what we needed to do to support the development.

The nearest public pool is the Aura Leisure Centre Drogheda 21km or Ballymun or Finglas closer to the city, while other private options are oversubscribed. Balbriggan is a great location for a swimming pool as there are significant towns nearby within easy reach that will benefit from this provision.

The North Fingal Pool Campaign will be watching vigilantly to ensure that promises made are promises kept. There have been too many disappointments before. Fingal Council have indicated they expect construction to commence at the end of 2026.

New €10m public swimming pool to be built in Balbriggan | Fingal County Council