A sauna on your doorstep

On a crisp, bitter cold morning The Anglo-Celt made its way to Outdoor Sauna & Leisure in Killeshandra.

Nestled just beside the town lake, the wood-fired sauna and plunge pool is almost hidden by the dense fog that has come over the town.

The smell of fresh wood lingers in the air. The facility is just over three weeks open and is already proving to be a success.

On a day like this, it’s easy to see why. Against temperatures alternating between minus and just above zero, the sauna provides a refuge from the bitter cold weather. For the walking town that Killeshandra is, anyone would be delighted to stumble upon this wooden, cylinder-shaped vessel of warmth - in any weather. The view from the sauna is spectacular, overlooking the lake and fields beyond the town.

The enterprise is a family effort set up by the Tiernans from Killeshandra - Padraig, his wife Martina, and their four children Patrick, Emma, Richella and Catriona.

Padraig shares how, following the death of his father two years ago, he suffered from depression.

“I decided then I had to do something about it,” he remembers.

While sitting in a sauna during a trip to Rosses Point in Sligo, Padraig found solace in taking time to himself.

“It was just great, you come out of it relaxed,” he says.

He decided to replicate the experience on his own doorstep and share it with the public.

“We said sure look, we’ll give it a shot. That’s where we are now.”

The father of four reports "great support" from locals and those in neighbouring towns.

“It’s going very good, I’ve surprised myself with how well.”

Members from the local football club have also been availing of the ninety to one hundred degree heat and an eight degree plunge afterwards. Padraig also reports using the sauna around three times per week.

“If you’re an older person that doesn’t want to climb into the plunge, if you just walk around and cool down normally, that’s as good,” he advises.

With male and female changing rooms beside the sauna, a shower and parking facilities, a 45-minute session costs €15. The sauna fits eight people “comfortably” at any one time.

“It’s a good social event, you can come and meet people,” Padraig describes.

The sauna and plunge pool is open on a Friday and Monday evening from 6pm until 10pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 4pm. Bookings can be made on the Glofox app, which shows all times that the sauna is available.

Outdoor Sauna & Leisure are also open to group bookings, which can be made by messaging the Facebook page. For more details, you can find Outdoor Sauna & Leisure on Facebook, Instagram and

TikTok.