The development of a swimming pool and sports complex in the Baltinglass Municipal District should be made a priority in the County Development Plan. I am a Medical Scientist in Tallaght University Hospital and a mother to an 8 year old daughter. We have lived in Blessington for 15 years. The first thing I see when I open my blinds in the morning is the Blessington lake. As picturesque as this is, it is also extremely dangerous as is any water. Although swimming is prohibited in the lake lifesaving is a skill that people should learn and is necessary where there is access to water.
My husband is a keen sailor and is a member of Blessington sailing club.He also has his own sailing boat on the lake. Thankfully as he grew up in Dublin he attended swimming lessons as a child and as such is a strong swimmer. However is it fair that because we as parents choose to live in Blessington that our daughter is not given the same opportunity as her father to learn how to swim? Yet if we lived in Dublin or indeed over the other side of the mountain in East Wicklow she would easily have access to swimming lessons! Is it fair that in 2022 a child is at a disadvantage because of geographical location?When she was 6 months old I started bringing her to aquababies swimming lessons every week in Naas Co. Kildare. She loved the water and so began what I had hoped would become a lifetime of love for the water. But unfortunately in 2014 when she was just 15 months old I was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. So 8 years later following 11 hospital admissions and 6 surgeries I am thankfully tumour free but have developed epilepsy which unfortunately means I am unable to drive. So her lessons had to stop! There is no bus to Naas or East Wicklow. The only bus from Blessington to Tallaght doesn't stop at the 1 pool so again due to geographical location and my medical condition my daughter suffers again! Also throughout the years I have attended several neurologists and neurosurgeons for both my seizures and my chronic headaches and each of them have told me that strenuous exercise is not recommended but that swimming would be good and may even ease my headaches. I laughed when they told me that because I said "I can't drive and can't get to a swimming pool without getting 2 buses" to which the consultant replied thats ridiculous in this day and age. Surely there is one closer. Because stress is something that can cause seizures and getting 2 different buses there and 2 buses home (a 40km round trip away) is definitely stressful, a stress that would increase my headaches rather than ease them and thus undoing any of the benefits of the swim.
Swimming is the one form of exercise that is accessible to all age groups, genders and abilities. It is an essential life skill which all members of every community should have the opportunity to learn.It is also a skill that could one day save a person's life. Unfortunately the Baltinglass Municipal District is the only district in Wicklow without a swimming pool and in 2022 that is just not good enough! We are failing each and every member of this community and its time for this to change. The community would benefit from a multi sports complex which could open endless possibilities for adults and children. Blessington currently has no basketball club, gymnastics club or football pitches in the town. The only pitches are based outside the town and must be accessed by car. We are doing our children a disservice with the lack of facilities provided to them. I strongly believe a sports complex and community swimming pool would boost morale and community spirit and encourage people to stay active. It will help both the physical and mental health of everyone for generations to come.Wicklow County Council needs to make this a priority. Now is the time to INVEST IN THE WEST.
p.s Please see attached a drawing and some words from my 8 year old daughter. It makes me sad to think that I as a mother am failing her because of my illness and my lack of ability to currently drive and access a swimming pool (a basic facility that should be available to all).
Thank you
