*Members of Riverside Cycling Club with staff of Lahinch Leisure Centre plus Cllr Shane Talty (FF) & Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG). Photograph: John Mangan
A SITE which was formerly the cinema in Lahinch and once a venue for school plays is now a very modern cycling studio.
Lahinch Leisure Centre unveiled the latest addition to their €6m facility on Wednesday evening with the official launch of a new cycling studio.
Co-funded by Riverside Cycling Club, the studio is home to spinning classes and has been described as one of the most interactive studios of its kind.
General Manager of Lahinch Leisure Centre, Eoin Conlan paid tribute to the Ennistymon based Riverside Cycling Club, “your support in establishing this cycle studio has enabled our community to have a top of the range cycling experience,” he told members as they peddled away on the newly equipped spinning bikes.
He added, “A lot of hard work has been done to build it up to this point. We are able to promote fitness and wellbeing and this will encourage the community of North Clare to develop community bonds and collaboration. What is one win here will lead to more wins”.
Eoin who has been General Manager since the official opening of Lahinch Leisure Centre last year following its refurbishment said, “the phrase that comes to my mind when I think of my tenure so far is standing on the shoulders of giants, never did I imagine the sense of community would be so strong. It is a pleasure to be involved with each of you as we work to promote activie communities in Clare”.
Established in 2011 with the objective of promoting and supporting group Leisure Cycling in North Clare, Riverside Cycling Club Ennistymon is affiliated with Cycling Ireland and has 40 adult male and female members of varying age and ability. The club arranges Sunday morning spins out of Ennistymon and Lahinch on a variety of routes to North, West and East Clare.
Secretary of the cycling club, Matt Hennigan praised the impact of Lahinch Leisure Centre to the community. “I see it as local from 06:30 in the morning to 9:45 at night, there is always someone here”. He was hopeful their collaboration would work as “a pipeline for the future membership of the club, we see it as an opportunity to pick up new members”. He continued, “this is a picture perfect candidate of the likes of things we like to support in the community, it is something you can see, feel and touch”.
Matt spoke of the contribution of the Cliffs of Moher Cycle which has built up a reputation as one of the premier leisure cycles in the country, offering spectacular views and warm hospitality, The event is capped at 1,000 participants and is supported by 140 volunteers, it is worth in the region of €250,000 annually to north Clare hospitality sector.
“We are a small club but we have a very strong focus on raising money for good causes in the locality. It has raised over €150,000 in the last nine years. It brings about quarter of a million to North Clare economy,” Matt said. Past beneficiaries include Ennistymon Hospital, North Clare Youth Counselling, Ennistymon Playground Ennistymon Comhaltas, Burren Chernobyl Project and Cancer support services in the mid-west. The tenth edition of the Cliffs of Moher Cycle takes place on 1st April 2023.
