A variety of services and events for children, youth, adults, and seniors are available. These range from sports, arts, music, language, health, education and wellness to best serve the needs of the local community.
DPCC was the vision of a group of volunteers who aimed to establish a community facility for the diverse and growing local population. First registered in March 1995 it took seven years of fundraising and successful lottery grant applications before that vision was realised and the building opened its doors in 2002. Fingal County Council came onboard in 2004 and has supported, developed and maintained the centre ever since.
The Centre opened with a variety of sports and leisure spaces including a bar (later redeveloped into a coffee shop) and a pre-school. These spaces quickly became popular with a wide variety of community groups. The centre had to balance demands for its services with support for a number of local civic initiatives. In 2008 the centre facilitated the new Donabate Community College while its build took place. This meant the centre was restructured and developed to accommodate up to 300 students and staff on the first floor. To this day DPCC continues to support the school with the provision of hall and all-weather pitch facilities. In 2014 the centre was further upgraded when Donabate Library was located on the first floor.
The DPCC has a vision to continue to be a vibrant and inclusive hub for the community, where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can come together to enjoy, learn, and socialise. With large increases in the local population, the DPCC has to ensure the centre can accommodate all of the future local community needs. A new schedule of renovation and expansion works is in the pipeline as the gym facilities are expanded. With the relocation of the library, the first-floor layout will be repurposed into more usable social spaces.
The centre is managed and operated in partnership with the local community and voluntary and statutory agencies. The permanent Community Centre staff team includes centre, gym and preschool managers supported by administrators, trainers and child care staff. Centre attendants, security and maintenance personnel are supported through the Community employment programme and TUS. DPCC benefits hugely from its team of highly trained and motivated staff.
Over the years with significant redevelopment and investment Donabate Portrane Community & Leisure Centre has achieved it primary objective which is to “meet the ever-changing needs of the community it serves.” Evidence shows that the centre is needed more now than it was in 2001 with an ever-changing expanding population. The facility will be able to serve the projected population growth of Donabate and Portrane, which is expected to reach 25,000 by 2031 according to Fingal County Council’s plans.
But don’t just take our word for it, drop in and see for yourself – there really is something for everyone at Donabate Portrane Community Centre.
