In a move that will benefit the Athletics community and the many sports clubs and organisations that use the Lourdes Stadium for events on Sundays, Sinn Féin Councillor Joanna Byrne has secured a reversal on the decision taken by Louth County Council (LCC) earlier this year to close the venue on the very day it was needed.
The issue was highlighted to Cllr Byrne in April, that despite all Athletics being held on Sundays, LCC had taken the decision to shut the popular stadium and its tracks on that day going forward, leaving sporting groups having to relocate to a facility in North Louth, both for recreational and competitive use.
Cllr and General Election candidate Joanna Byrne said “Historically, competitions like the Pre-Louth and the All-Louth’s were rotated between Drogheda and Dundalk (Bush), an arrangement that was fair to all and worked quite well. Prior to this year’s competitions in April it became apparent that Drogheda could no longer host the event due to the stadium being closed.”
Having raised this with Council officials at the time, it was confirmed to Cllr Byrne that LCC would not be staffing this facility on a Sunday and it would be closed.
On behalf of the Athletics Community in Drogheda and its surrounding areas, Cllr Byrne sought to have the decision overturned accusing the Council of “in one foul swoop you have ripped the heart out of Athletics in Drogheda.”
At October’s Council meeting, having documented the need for Sunday openings and citing previous usage on that day, Cllr Byrne received a commitment that LCC will agree to ‘re-open the facility on Sundays when there’s a demand for it and resources allow.’
Speaking after the meeting Cllr Byrne said;
“This is a huge win for Athletics and sport in general in Drogheda and surrounding areas. We had a popular facility which has been invested in heavily in recent years to evolve it and further grow the sport and it made no sense whatsoever to close this venue on the very day it was utilised the most. Common sense has finally prevailed and I’m happy to have been able to get this decision over-turned and secure it’s re-opening. Athletics is a sport that utilises the legs but feeds the heart and mind and I look forward to seeing the gates re-open as needed in the heart of Drogheda for it once again.”
