Ben Higson's eleven-strong elite swimming squad, including Longford's Darragh Greene who has already secured qualification for the Tokyo Games, are among the athletes who continue to make use of the purpose-built facility in West Dublin.

“We are in a very fortunate position, the athletes in the national centre in Dublin,” said the coach to the national senior team. “We got the news yesterday that the Sports Campus was closing to the public but we still have access to the swimming pool so the security guards at the front gates will open for us when we need to get in and again when we need to get out.

“So, from a day-to-day training perspective at the moment, we are relatively unaffected. The climate is ever-changing and there might be a different view come tomorrow or the next day but that is the status quo at the moment.”

The campus has grown considerably in recent years and now includes a multi-purpose National Indoor arena, the aquatics centre, a horse sport arena, tracks and trails, a dry land diving centre and other such facilities though it is unclear how many remain open for business.

Also on site is Irish Sport HQ which provides admin offices for many of the country's National Governing Bodies (NGBs) though the building has been largely emptied since last week when many staff began working from home.

Situated nearby is the Sport Ireland Institute which provides crucial support services for elite athletes across the sporting spectrum. It too is continuing to provide a service although under strictly observed protocols given the coronavirus and its spread.

“They remain open to athletes but with a very strict protocol that the athletes must follow when they enter the building,” said Higson.

“There is a questionnaire about their health, they then measure their temperature and as long as they tick all the boxes then they can access the Institute where the physio is and where they can do their S&C and all these service providers that they need to continue their daily training.”

For those training elsewhere the situation is very different. The national squad has swimmers in Larne and Bangor where the approach to the virus pandemic has been far more lax. For them, it is basically business a usual.

However, Higson has swimmers in Limerick and Ballyshannon and, when the pathway squad is added to the numbers, in other venues again around the Republic, some of whom have closed their pools already.