UCC Mardyke Athletics Track: Statement

This week’s closure of the UCC Mardyke athletics track due to health and safety concerns has limited training options for athletes in Cork City.

Athletics Ireland CEO, Hamish Adams attended a meeting with UCC and Club representatives onsite at the Mardyke today to view the track and discuss options available to remedy this challenge.

UCC representatives confirmed a contractor is attending the Mardyke this week to assess temporary fixes to facilitate a return to the track. UCC will update all parties in the coming days as to the next steps in this process.

UCC Director of Sport, Morgan Buckley, added: ‘UCC are committed to remedying this matter as soon as possible, the Mardyke athletics track is an essential piece of sporting infrastructure within the University and we a have a long-term commitment to the sport of athletics We apologise for the inconvenience we know this has caused, we took this decision reluctantly and in the best interest of the safety of athletes.’

Hamish Adams, said: ‘The closure of the Mardyke track compounds what is already a difficult situation with the MTU track closed for re-surfacing, these works are due for completion in the coming weeks. Cork City & County represents our largest membership base outside Dublin; and we sympathise with all our members in Cork who are now training without a track.

Strategically we know there is a lack of athletics facilities in Cork, and we are remedying this with the development of a state-of-the-art indoor facility at MTU and the re-surfacing of the MTU track. Additionally, we have supported the construction of the new Bandon Athletics Club track and the Carrigaline Athletics Club track is at an early stage of development. We are also endorsing the need for a track in Midleton to support the East Cork athletics community, and this exciting project is an early stage of planning. Unfortunately, these projects will take time to complete, and we understand the Cork athletics community’s current frustration.’

The sport of athletics continues to grow strongly across Ireland and these new Cork facilities coming on stream will be essential to meet the demands of our community.

- Athletics Ireland