Life became considerably cooler in south Dublin yesterday as the ice was broken on a newly erected skating rink in the suburb of Booterstown.
The 10,824sq ft ice rink is open to the public until January 13th in Blackrock Park, adjacent to Booterstown Dart station.
Unlike the open-air Smithfield rink, it will be housed in a covered marquee. The GoSkate rink is hosted by Diffusion Event Management, which has operated the Smithfield rink every winter for the past four years.
The rink in Booterstown will bring an "excellent focal point to the area", according to Richard Shakespeare, Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown County Council senior executive officer. He added that he was hopeful about 80,000 people would use the rink between now and January.
Some 450 gallons of freezing agent have been used to make 120 tonnes of ice for the rink, which can hold up to 320 people.
A group of children from Booterstown National School were the first to take to the ice yesterday morning, and they were later joined by champion figure skater Nadia Elatrash.
Ice manager Simon Kitchen advised those who attend the rink over the coming months to put "safety first" on the ice.
The marquee will also feature a themed market, kiddies rink, viewing area and cafe.
The rink is being run by the Dún Laoghaire local authority as a "non-commercial activity", with tickets priced at €8 for schoolchildren, €10 for under 12s, €13 for students, €16 for adults, and €44 for a family of four.
Tickets are available from www.goskate.ie or by calling 01-230 3300.
