World scratch race champion Martyn Irvine and world number one women’s individual pursuit rider Caroline Ryan have both given a thumbs up to an announcement from the Cuchulainn club that it intends to have Ireland’s first indoor velodrome in place this year.
The club has been working on the project for the past four years and after identifying two previous sites, it switched plans and reached an alternative agreement in recent weeks with the Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The latter has purchased the JJB sports complex in Dundalk, a venue which had closed down under its previous management but will now be reopened.
The building contains gyms, training rooms, a swimming pool, indoor soccer pitches and an ice rink, and has over 500 car parking spaces. The velodrome would be developed on the top floor, with the dimensions allowing a 250 metre track to be constructed inside.
One clear advantage of the project over the other plans Cuchulainn had been studying is that a new structure would not need to be built. This cuts costs significantly, and also means the country would have an indoor velodrome far quicker than had been originally anticipated.
Cuchulainn club chairman Pat O'Shaughnessy told The Irish Times that the estimated cost of the project would be 1.2 million, and that if the funding is secured over the coming months, that a completed velodrome could be in use by September.
"It's awesome news," Irvine said yesterday. "Cuchulainn CC put the hard work in and I was behind them because they had a good driving force. For me it will be a great opportunity to train at home in Ireland, so it probably means less travelling in the long run."
'Major boost'
Ryan echoed those sentiments. "At the moment in order to train for major track championships we need to live and train abroad near a velodrome. A velodrome in Ireland would not only be a major boost to myself and my team-mates but, more importantly, to the young and aspiring athletes that can't travel abroad like we do."
According to O’Shaughnessy, the club is applying for a Sports Capital programme grant and will also seek funding via different avenues. “I think it is going to benefit not just elite cyclist in Ireland but cycling as a whole,” he stated.
Cycling Ireland chief executive Geoff Liffey said that the federation was keen to have a velodrome in the country. “It is positive news,” he stated. “We think it is an interesting opportunity. A velodrome would be a huge boost.” He added that the federation hadn’t abandoned its hopes that a velodrome would be constructed in Abbotstown, and said that CI was awaiting further research on both projects before deciding which one it felt was preferable. The Dundalk club is, however, fully committed to pushing on with its plans.
