Cork is ‘obvious’ choice for Sport Ireland campus

Cork County Council has unanimously backed a motion calling on the Government to establish a second Sport Ireland Campus in Cork.

The campus would be aimed at addressing a severe deficit in regional sports infrastructure while catering to the south’s rapidly growing population.

There is currently just one Sport Ireland Campus in the country, which opened as a flagship facility in Dublin in 2003 and has gradually expanded since to include numerous state-of-the-art sporting facilities.

Tabling the ambitious motion at Monday’s full council meeting, Cllr Eamonn Horgan (Social Democrats) urged the council to write to An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and Minister for Sport, Patrick O'Donovan.

He highlighted Cork’s rich sporting heritage, citing icons like Sonia O'Sullivan, Roy Keane, and the O'Donovan brothers, while warning that local athletes face unfair hurdles without adequate facilities.

He said: “Athletes should not have to travel across the country to access high-performance supports, sports science expertise, or specialist training environments. I’m calling on the Government, with Sport Ireland, to commission a feasibility study into the development of a second Sport Ireland National Campus in county Cork.”

Supporting the proposal, Cllr Ann Bambury (SD) emphasised the regional necessity of the project, pointing out that Munster’s 1.3 million residents currently lack a facility comparable to the national campus in Blanchardstown, Dublin.

“Cork is the obvious location for a second campus,” she insisted. “A second sports campus would remove many of these barriers and allow athletes to train closer to home and reducing travel.”

Independent Ireland Cllr Danny Collins raised issues regarding local grassroots facilities and the struggles small clubs face when securing long-term premises. “These clubs are fighting hard when they go for grants to improve pitches or create dressing rooms. We have to look after our youth. These are the people who need the sports, & we need to push for these sports hubs where you have a combination of different clubs coming together.”

Highlighting the disparities between Dublin and the rest of the country, Cllr Ronán Sheehan (Labour) argued that the investment is long overdue for the southern region. “This balance is still heavily weighted towards the east of the country. Every euro that’s invested in sporting infrastructure is an investment in healthcare and communities. For far too long, Cork has been made to do with less than its fair share,” he added.

The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Bernard Moynihan (FF), said he intends to discuss progressing the proposal jointly with the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Damian Boylan (FG), to present a unified city and county front to central government. Council officials also confirmed that a joint sports strategy between the city and county is already underway, providing a potential framework to push the proposal forward.