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Our Head Swimming Coach

Eilís Burns is a level 3 swim coach and a psychotherapist who has combined these two professional paths to become one of the most successful marathon, open water, triathlon, beginner, and pool swim coaches in Ireland. With over 36 years of experience Eilís has helped develop a multitude of swimmers to date.

In 2018 she was inducted into the Marathon Swimming Ireland Hall of Fame for her efforts as a coach. In 2018 as swim coach extraordinaire, Eilís was among just 15 women worldwide nominated for the 2018 World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) Woman of the Year Award.

Not only does Eilís bring a wealth of high-performance coaching experience, but she too is an accomplished ex-international swimmer, water polo player, an Irish Masters Swim record holder, and a seasoned marathon swimmer herself.

Eilís, who has put thousands of Cork swimmers through their strokes, is a renowned pool coach, and excels in improving stroke and devising training programmes.

She is behind the success of dozens of Channel swimmers and marathon swimmers living in Ireland and further afield, with no expectation of payment – instead she asks that they raise funds for a charity of their choice, which to date has topped €150,000.

“It’s a way of giving back to society what I have got out of life through swimming. Once you teach people to swim, the world is their oyster. I want them to have the love and freedom of the water,” she says.

Eilís is thrilled to accept her new position as Head Swimming Coach in DISTRICT. She is proud to be part of this exciting new venture, and hopes to continue to be a leading light in developing swimming in our members at DISTRICT.

Swim Classes Available at District Health and Leisure

Parent and Baby & Parent and Toddler

A fun, friendly and enjoyable class designed for 4 months to 24 months or 2- to 4-year-olds, where parent and baby are in the water together.  Swimming strengthens baby’s arms, legs, and neck muscles along with their heart and lungs.  Classes and submersions are baby led and water is proven to calm baby and promote better eating and sleeping patterns.

Childrens Swimming Lessons

We offer group lessons every weekday afternoon Monday to Friday and on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Our lessons take place predominantly in the deep end of the pool where we find children learn faster and gain confidence much quicker.  Armbands are a requirement for beginners as an aid to build on their confidence starting their swimming journey.  We also have Improvers level where children have more swimming experience and confidence.  The aim is to work on breathing and strokes in this level.  Finally, we have our more advanced lane swimming, led by our swim coach Eilis Burns, where children swim by distance with emphasis on stroke and breathing.

Adult Swimming Lessons

All levels, all abilities and all ages are catered for in our Adult Lessons.  It is our ethos that absolutely everybody can swim.  It is in our makeup, we are designed to do it but sometimes our head gets in the way!  We have an experienced team of instructors who will help you along the way whether it is starting off on your swim journey or looking to improve on your current ability.

All courses are 10 weeks and class duration for children is 40 minutes and 45 minutes for adults.  Courses cost €100 for members or €165 for non-members.

• Swimming Lessons

For individuals who may not be comfortable in a group setting we offer personalised private lessons individually with our highly trained instructors.  For people with additional needs the instructor can be requested to be present in the water.

These lessons are based on a 6 week course at a cost of €180 for members or €210 for non-members.