10 July 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Anytime Fitness, the world’s largest and fastest-growing 24-hour fitness franchise, opened its fourth club in Ireland on Monday July 6th in Ballincollig, Cork.
This is the first new gym to open in Ireland since lockdown and has been designed around social distancing guidelines. This includes not just the spacing of equipment, but individual private shower rooms and changing rooms.
The new Anytime Fitness gym is being managed by Cork City Ex-Football Striker George O’Callaghan who was recently inducted into Cork City FC’s hall of fame. George is a former football player and club manager with clubs across the UK and Ireland and since his retirement he has worked with several sport companies across Europe and Asia. George has a huge passion for fitness and is looking forward to bringing his expertise and experience to the team at Anytime Fitness Ballincollig.
The company behind Anytime Fitness is Holohan Fitness, part of the Aura Holohan Group, which was founded by two Cork brothers Gar and Bill Holohan, who were raised nearby in Bishopston and educated in Coláiste An Spioraid Naoimh. The Aura Holohan Group is the largest health and fitness operator in Ireland, operating over 15 leisure centres and gyms nationwide including Anytime Fitness, Aura Leisure and DKIT Sport.
The gym was due to open its doors for the first time in March but due to the government restrictions had to remain closed until this week. The company’s Health & Safety experts have been liaising with industry representative bodies and Government agencies to ensure they are implementing the highest standards of health and safety protocols across all Anytime Fitness gyms. No strangers to excellence in Health and Safety, the Group won 2 awards at the National Irish Safety Awards last year and confirmed ‘’the safety of our staff and customers is our highest priority and that is why we decided to wait to open until the first week in July so we could ensure we have everything in place and staff fully trained’’.
Speaking about bringing the franchise to his native Cork, Aura Holohan Group Chairman Gar Holohan, a former international squash player, said ‘’We have been operating the Aura Youghal leisure centre for the past 12 years in partnership with Cork County Council, so we are delighted to be now be opening our first Anytime Fitness gym in Cork as well.”
Anytime Fitness are the only gyms in Ireland that are fully operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which is great news particularly for anyone not working a 9–5 such as in the hospitality industry or in the Cork University Hospital. This gives members the convenience to work out whenever it suits their busy lifestyle. A relatively young gym brand in Ireland, what’s great about the Anytime Fitness gyms is that they are a part of a worldwide network of over 4,500 gyms across all 7 continents servicing upwards of 4,000,000 members. As a member of Anytime Fitness, members have access to them all. Join one gym, use them all! The refreshingly different fitness franchise not only has made fitness more accessible by being the first to bring the 24-hour gym model to life in Ireland, but their welcoming and inclusive culture builds communities. Ranked #1 on Entrepreneur’s prestigious Top Global Franchise list, Anytime Fitness is the fastest-growing gym franchise in the world. The Anytime Fitness mantra is to help Make Healthy Happen. No matter what a person’s starting fitness level is or what their motivations are, there is a clear focus on providing a more premium and inclusive experience to members to foster this. Sign up and receive a free, personalised Get Started Plan before being guided through your own personal fitness journey by the friendly, professionally trained staff.
