Dún Laoghaire Baths finally reopen: ‘We’re here courtesy of people power’

Just behind the roped off area regular sea-swimmers Eithne Casey and Eoin Ó Coinneadh are chomping at the bit. The speeches and photos are just finishing a few metres away on the plaza, against the backdrop of Dún Laoghaire Baths’ new jetty and Roger Casement sculpture, with the wild sea rising up and crashing down.

Casey’s not swimming today because of a cold and while she’s cross the public are not at the formal opening, she’s delighted it’s finally done, and also with the Casement sculpture – “he’s a hero of mine”.

Ó Coinneadh, on the other hand, already has his togs (and hat) on and is ready to go. The waves are rough but “I’m going to check it out, get the head wet anyway”, he says. He strides off and is officially the first person in the water.

There are some ironies, surely, in the fact that Dún Laoghaire Baths, the town’s new swimming place – without actual baths – formally opened on one of the coldest days of the year, awash with warnings about risks of sea-swimming in cold weather.

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A quarter of a century after the baths closed, following public outcry over the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s repeated attempts to privatise the seafront, and then what became a ridiculously elongated construction with regularly rescheduled finish-dates, the public outdoor area is finally open. The great and the good of the borough – councillors, TDs, local businesses, community representatives – came out in weatherproof finery and thermals to mark the cutting of the ribbon.

[ First Look: Dún Laoghaire Baths are finally set to reopen. It’s a breathtaking sight ]

Cathaoirleach Mary Hanafin (Fianna Fáil) talks in her speech about the baths’ “unique place” in the social, cultural, urban and political history of Dún Laoghaire, in the past a place for swimming and recreation by locals and tourists, “gathering in what was then the centre of Dublin Riviera”.

She said: “We’re here this morning courtesy of people power, political pressure and professional prowess,” noting the importance that it was still a public space. “This could have been apartments, a hotel, spa, offices, shops, a 10-storey tower. All private.” She talks about protest and marches and meetings, by residents and beyond, musicians, political parties and activists, heritage groups, historians “demanding this be kept in public use. And the DLR councillors voted to keep the public space we have today.”

Oddly, she does not mention Save Our Seafront, the campaign which brought together all those people to fight for the baths to continue as a publicly-owned amenity.

Earlier, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett, chairperson of Save Our Seafront, issued a statement about how mass local protest saved Dún Laoghaire Baths from privatisation in “a campaign of people power” spearheaded by Save Our Seafront, with both he and Cllr Melisa Halpin involved. Reopening the baths was a victory, he said, but “a seawater pool must be delivered”. He brought it up in the Dáil last Friday too, reminding how Save Our Seafront campaigners had successfully fought against “mad proposals” including a 19-storey office block and an apartment development, but that “shockingly” the development is “still without the pool we campaigned for. There will be a swimming jetty, and that it is great, and it is far better than privatisation, but it is extraordinary that after all those years we still will not have the swimming pool.”

Hanafin agrees. In her speech she said “the councillors and the public want to see the pool restored here. And don’t worry, there’s only a lid on it. The space is still here. The councillors voted for that and the management have agreed to progress the planning process for that pool now, which people will be glad to see in this beautiful restored area.”

The 2010 plans did not include an outdoor pool, but a future phase may see an open seawater pool, and a concrete void was left below the plaza surface to allow for this. With architecture, engineering and construction work done, the next phase was finishing the paths to the East Pier.

DLR chief executive Frank Curran said the baths were part of council policy of “improving public realm for our communities and linking the seafront with the town centre. It complements and is linked to the People’s Park, the Lexicon library and the Metals.”

County architect Andrée Dargan said access to outdoor public spaces have taken on a new significance in our lives recently, and “this milestone is another step in the incremental implementation of our overall vision for the town”, which last month was honoured as Great Town 2022 by London’s Academy of Urbanism.

The baths had taken what she called a “circuitous route” over many years to get to this, and she praised the “huge work” by several DLR departments and many individuals over its lifespan. She particularly mentioned architect Sarah Clifford in the early phase, and DLR senior architect Bob Hannan, the project’s “champion”, saying “it is your magnum opus”.

The outdoor space at the baths includes a 35m jetty with built in seating and the Casement statue at the end, changing shelter, restored bandstand, an amphitheatre and multiple walkways and viewing points. This week must be the first time since the baths were built in 1843 that there is a continuous walking route between Newtownsmith in Sandycove and the East Pier.

Fergal McCabe, an architect who lives nearby, is impressed by the architecture and looks forward to seeing how it will be used by people. It’s not his first time here: “We broke in one night to have a look around!” he grins. A bunch of people got through the barrier to see what it was like. “It was interesting: children were kicking a ball against that wall, and smaller kids were running round enjoying the space.”

Speaking later, the previous cathaoirleach, Letty McCarthy (Labour Party) talked about her pleasure at unveiling Mark Richard’s sculpture on the jetty in September 2021, and being up “at eye level, in a cherrypicker, seeing Dún Laoghaire” from Casement’s vantage point.

The restored pavilion building will open to the public in the new year, with artist studios (DLR arts office is now inviting applications), a small gallery in the former “drying house”, toilets and a “changing places” bathroom for those with additional needs, as well as cafe at street level, with a view on to the bay and an outside terrace.

Tendering for a cafe operator came up at last week’s council’s area committee meeting, when Cllr Melisa Halpin’s motion, to open the tender to smaller, local, independent businesses rather than just larger chains and high-end operators, was passed unanimously.

The final cost of the project, mainly funded by the council with a contribution by the European Regional Development Fund, is about €18 million. This is significantly more than originally envisaged, after significant structural work to underpin and stabilise the main building and to restore walls along the embankment at Queens Road, and complications in building the jetty. A Dún Laoghaire Baths exhibition at the dlr Lexicon library marks the opening, and in spring a party is planned, with a concert and Air Corps flyover.