Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mathew Eberius
Last December, my wife and I took a trip to Europe and made our home base the beautiful city of Dublin, Ireland. We had been there previously and enjoyed the culture, the food, and the historical sites within the city. Being a leisure professional, I try to stay near a park, or at least within walking distance. At this particular time, after passing several recreation facilities, I made contact with Trevor Higgins, a Senior Community Officer and Area Manager for Dublin City Council and one of the management members for the Culture, Recreation and Amenity Department.
With a population of more than half a million people, Dublin sits on the east coast of Ireland and offers something for every kind of traveler. The Culture, Recreation and Amenity Department is usually not found on a tourist’s itinerary, so I was pleased to get an insider’s look as someone from an overseas recreation department.
Mingling With The Locals
After a couple of email exchanges, Trevor picked me up from the hotel and we set off for some of the recreation facilities in the area, where we would meet staff members and see the programming offered to its residents. We visited several facilities (leisure centres), including the Darndale-Belcamp Recreation Centre, which included an extensive youth activity area, a gymnasium, park space, and a complete boxing ring.