ESB Plans Big Golf Facility Near Tara
Sat, Apr 26 03 Meath
Chronicle
By John Donohoe
A MAJOR planning application is about to be lodged with Meath Co. Council for an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse at the foot of the Hill of Tara, at Cabragh.
The ESB staff sports association, Sportsco, purchased the 174-acre property on the N3 from businessman and farmer Denis Feighery just over two years ago. Sportsco is an independently-run subsidiary of the ESB and already runs a sports and leisure complex at Ringsend in Dublin.
The proposed golf course site at Cabragh is located on the N3 between the two historic hills of Tara and Skryne, in an area described by locals as the highest point between the two hills, bordering the old Tara Hall property.
It is expected that it will be operated on a basis similar to the Garda-run Westmanstown Golf Club near Lucan, and won't be confined solely to ESB members, but will be open to all.
The ESB Sportsco main facility at Ringsend is one of the leading corporate facilities in the Irish leisure industry. It was originally built in 1978 for ESB staff and their families and at present boasts almost 13,000 members. Seventy-five per cent of memberships are ESB-related and 25% are associate memberships.
The facility includes a six- lane pool, a gym, five tennis courts, four squash courts, a leisure suite, incorporating sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and plunge pool, sports hall, club bar and function room.
Sportsco's mission statement is "To offer the very best in sports facilities combined with quality service to all members."
In a statement relating to the Tara application, Sportsco says it is "quietly confident of a positive result from the planning process after which the executive council will make a decision on whether or not to progress with the project."