Five jobs created at Kilkee community fitness centre

ON Monday, what has been labelled a fitness community centre, will open on the site of the former Sentosa swimming pool and gym on the Kilrush road in Kilkee.

The facility, located on the grounds of the Kilkee Bay Hotel, has been closed for more than two years but was recently bought by a group of Kilkee business people, who are seeking more investors. An open day will be held on Sunday (12 noon to 4pm) while the gym, which will provide five full and part-time jobs, will open for business on Monday.
“We feel this is a very innovative action where a local group has taken over useful local facilities that were closed,” Kilkee SwimGym chairman John Williams commented. The other company directors are Pat Maguire, Donal Hayes and Cillian Murphy, while Stephanie Haugh has been appointed manager of the gym.
“We hope to see it becoming a ‘fitness community centre’ with a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and a professionally equipped gym with fully trained staff, which can cater to all levels of fitness and interests,” Cillian Murphy said.
“There are also a number of treatment rooms fitted out to very high standards, which we would like to see being used by beauticians or physiotherapists, who may not have access to their own facilities and this would provide the ideal opportunity for them to get their business started. From a potential derelict building to housing a bright thriving business is a big step forward,” he added.
Mr Murphy also feels the fitness centre will give visitors an additional reason to stay in Kilkee during the summer months.
“It is also a unique opportunity to help smaller local accommodation providers boost tourism numbers by providing access to a leisure facility for visitors to the area, a key factor when families are making decisions about where to visit. This complex will tie in nicely with Kilkee’s reputation as one of the country’s premier family holiday destinations,” he said, adding he feels small businesses in the town can contribute towards reversing significant population decline in Kilkee.
“Much was made recently of the drop in population of Kilkee but it is through the commitment, vision and work ethic of local small businesses in taking on opportunities such as this that we will see this trend reversed,” Mr Murphy predicted.
Last November, The Clare Champion revealed that in an effort to address what they have deemed a “catastrophic” 301-person decrease in the town’s population, a steering committee has been established in Kilkee. One group member, Councillor Paddy Collins, expressed his fear that the town will be downgraded to village status, if the population falls below 1,000 people.
The 2011 census figures show the town’s population has fallen by 22% since 2006 when 1,325 lived there. The current population stands at 1,024, a fall of 301 people in five years.
In 1996, Kilkee had the fourth largest population in Clare but 16 years later, it now has the 13th largest population in the county.