River Leisure Club opens in Castleconnell at Castle Oaks House

The long-awaited reopening of the leisure club in Castleconnell took place on Friday, February 14. It follows on from a commitment by the owner of the Castle Oaks House, Pat McDonagh, that the leisure centre would be opened soon after the purchase of the premises late last year. “We know that the leisure centre is a very important part of the community and an important amenity for local people and clubs in the same way that the Castle Oaks Hotel is,” he said. “When we took control of the premises last year it was clear that we had a lot of work to do to bring it up to the standard that would be required by members. So, after a lot of effort from Áine who manages the centre and the team at the Castle Oaks, led by Barry Kennedy, I am delighted to announce that the leisure centre is now open again with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment which is no more than the local community deserve. I would like to invite people to come and have a look at the facilities for themselves over the coming days,” he said.

The new and upgraded facilities include a 17- metre swimming pool, a kid’s pool, a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. The pool area has had a full mechanical upgrade including replacement of the air handling unit, boilers and filtration system.

The gym now boasts the top of the range Precor and Concept II brands to the range of equipment available which an assault bike, ski erg, spin bikes, treadmills, cross trainers, recumbent bike. There is now a squat rack with a full-size Olympic barbell kit, cable crossover machine, leg press, dual lat pull down & seated row as well as increased weight selections on dumbbells and an extra bench area for free weights. There is a studio area that will facilitate classes such as - spinning, circuits, strength & conditioning, active ageing, injury rehabilitation and prevention and there will be aqua aerobics and swimming lessons in the pool area.

The changing rooms have been fully refurbished. The men’s and ladies changing rooms are spacious with ample seating areas, lockers and vanity areas. There are family changing cubicles and upgraded shower facilities. Membership will cater for singles, couples, families, students, and over 55's.

The Castle Oaks Hotel was purchased by Pat McDonagh in early 2019. The leisure centre became part of the property several months after that.  The hotel and leisure centre are part of the 4* Só Hotels Group. Pat & Una McDonagh are the owners of the Castle Oaks House Hotel and it forms part of the Só Hotels Group. The group also consists of the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick, Loughrea Hotel & Spa, Galway, Charleville Park Hotel, Cork, Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise and Athlone Springs Hotel. They are also the owners of the Supermac’s family restaurants group and currently employ over 4,000 people throughout the country through company, franchisee and hotel employees.

See our website www.castleoaks.ie for more information about the leisure centre and hotel.