Sports specialists at the University of Ulster have taken on a fresh challenge - helping to expand a Donegal holiday park as part of an island-wide business development scheme.

Two lecturers at the Jordanstown campus have scored a first for the Sports studies group in the School of Health Sciences by securing £59,000 funding from InterTradeIreland for a two-year FUSION project to devise a new leisure arm at Rockhill Caravan and Cabin Park on the shores of scenic Mulroy Bay, Donegal.

“The park at Kerrykeel has mobile homes, apartments and log cabins and is the biggest in north-west Donegal. We will be working with the owners, Carberry Holiday Parks, to design and operate a new sports and leisure complex that will be geared to the needs of holiday-makers who use the site and the wider local community of which it is a part,” said sports studies lecturer, Dr Deirdre Brennan.

Partnering her on the project is Shane McCullough, lecturer in coaching and sports development, who has considerable experience of sports facility development and of crafting  innovative sports development programmes.

FUSION is an all-Ireland scheme that promotes partnership between industry and academia. A graduate is recruited and based in a company to provide one-to-one specialist tailored assistance to solve its technology needs.  It is an initiative of InterTradeIreland, which was set up under the Belfast Agreement to promote cross-border trade and competitiveness.

“Traditionally, sports complexes have tended to be built in the hope that people will come in and use them. What we are saying is ‘let’s design and build a complex that is based on what people want and need,’ ” said Mr McCullough

“We are going to carry out an extensive needs-analysis first and then design a project that will facilitate both the park’s residents and the local community, its youth clubs and sports clubs.  A strength of our university work is the technological know-how and other capabilities needed in ensuring the right type of facilities are provided and that appropriate activity programmes are designed that will attract more people in to use them.”

Rockhill plans to provide an improved range of indoor and outdoor facilities, including all-weather pitches, for sports such as football, basketball and tennis, with qualified on-site coaches. The university experts will devise an outreach programme that caters for the park residents and the requirements of groups in the wider local community.

“We have the university technology back-up to assess optimum use of space and what type of modern playing surfaces are needed ,” Mr McCullough explained. “We will investigate the level of demand for facilities. Take swimming, for instance. The nearest swimming pool is in Letterkenny, a good 20 miles away. Rockhill will be able to offer a swimming pool for use by everyone, winter or summer.”

Belfast businessman Chris Carberry, managing director of Carberry Holiday Parks decided to linked up with the university after seeing the success of its Sports Outreach activities. He has made an £8,000 donation to promote the programme in the six partner schools. As well as Kerrykeel, his company has a holiday park in Clogherhead, Co Louth.

“We intend to transfer the knowledge and expertise that we have developed as part of our university sports outreach programme to rockhill park and  its community, said Dr Brennan.

“In addition,  we hope to replicate the outreach programme, in which we will work with many partners - the local community, community groups, trade organisations, sports clubs, schools - to organise a wide range of popular activitives,” she added.

“At Kerrykeel, we will set up a contact network and institute a sustainable programme that expands the park’s trade, attracts more residents to the park and provides local people with doorstep facilities that are customised to their needs.”

“This is about generating more usage of the park, hence more business and that will be good for the park owners and the community,” said Dr Brennan.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young