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The owner of a gym in West Dublin that had planned to stay open on Thursday despite Level 5 restrictions, decided not to, after two visits from An Garda Síochána.
Simon Murphy, owner of the Westside gym in Blanchardstown, had planned to open the gym to existing members only starting this morning, but decided not to do so Wednesday night.
Murphy said he hoped other gyms would try to stay open, which could force politicians to review current guidelines for the next six weeks.
Murphy said he was disappointed that other gyms had decided not to and that was his reasoning for closing the gym.
“It got to the point where I’m the only one in town who decided to try to raise awareness and potentially make a difference,” Murphy told The Irish Times on Thursday morning.
“The precedent was there in the UK, when gyms came together to make a change, things can happen.”
Gyms and leisure centers may reopen in Liverpool after the UK government gave in to pressure to align it with other regions under similar restrictions.
“I tried to express my point of view and get other people to come with me, but it’s just a move if people move… I wasn’t looking to gain market share, that was never a goal.
“I was sincere in what I was saying, this is a mental health problem and I think it will be to the detriment of the people.
“For me, it’s really disappointing that other people didn’t stand up and try to make a change when the possibility, I think, was really there.
“We received visits from the guards (sic) and they described exactly the guidelines that I violated, the rules that I violated and basically where it would take step by step if I continued to advance.
“I knew that was going to happen, especially when I announced what I was going to do. I anticipated it, it was not a surprise. ”
Under the government’s Level 5 restrictions, which took effect at midnight on Wednesday, gyms, leisure centers and swimming pools must close.
More than 46,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the government to include gyms as an essential service for the “mental and physical well-being of the Irish people.”
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