Phoenix Kayak Club was founded in the early 1980’s by a few enthusiastic kayakers in the Cork area and existed for a long period of time as a roof-rack club. Prior to the club finding its current base on the Lee Road, members used to meet across the river at the public car park on the Carrigrohane Road. At the time kayaking would not have been as popular as it seems to be now, however Phoenix Kayak Club managed to fill the public car park on a regular basis little to the bemusement of Cork City Council. For the reason it was agreed with the Cork City Council that we would use the site across the river in order to free up the public car park.
          Phoenix Kayak Club continued to grow steadily over the years with a number of members having success on the national team in a number of disciplines. As time went on, the site was developed with the help of a few much needed containers which worked quite well for storage and changing facilities.
          In recent years Phoenix Kayak Club has come on in leaps and bounds both on and off the water. On the water the club have managed to run Beginners kayaking courses for over 120 people year on year for the past few years and hope to continue this for the unforeseeable future. Official club outings have become a regular thing and these trips are widely varied ranging from sea-kayaking, kayak surfing, white-water paddling, night paddles and wildwater racing. The club run introductory kayaking courses free of charge for disadvantaged community groups in the Cork area. Off the water, the club managed to secure a 99 year sporting lease on the site at the Lee Road. Once this was signed off on, it was all systems go, to get plans drawn up and planning applied for, for our new clubhouse. In 2009 planning was approved and a fundraising committee was hard at work trying to raise every last cent they could in order for the building work to start as soon as possible. In September 2009, the dream started to become a reality with the builders on site and work on Phase 1 of the Phoenix Kayak Club’s Clubhouse well underway. Phase 1 of the Clubhouse was completed in November 2009 and huge thanks and appreciation must go to the members who supported this venture from the start with some putting money up in order to meet the shortfall which the club encountered.
          Phoenix Kayak Club has continued to grow in the past few years and if the feedback we receive from people who have completed beginners and introductory courses is anything to go by, then Phoenix Kayak Club will soon be the biggest kayaking club outside of Dublin if not already.
          It should be noted that all Instructors in Phoenix Kayak Club give their time and knowledge free of charge and all income raised through grants, membership and courses is put back into the club.
          So on a closing note, welcome to Phoenix Kayak Club, I hope that in the coming years you will embrace paddling with the enthusiasm you will see with existing members in the club and if you get half the enjoyment from paddling that I do, then I know you will have had a great time,

Yours In Paddling,

Dave O’Leary
Phoenix Kayak Club