Dunleary in the 1700s

    Dunleary appears on early maps as a small inlet along a rocky coastline about 11.2  km. from Dublin city.  The name according to legend is derived from Laoghaire, king of Ireland, who established a Dun or Fort there in the fifth-century. Two separate bathing areas in old Dunleary have been noted in maps dating from the 1790s.
    Kingstown 1800s
    The construction of the new asylum harbour a short distance to the East of Dunleary  contributed to the emergence of a new town in the 1820s. The small fishing village was replaced by a façade of Victorian elegance, fine terraced houses, yacht clubs, hotels, churches and public buildings. Following a visit to Ireland by King George IV the new port in 1821, Dunleary was renamed Kingstown.
    Kingstown 1900s
    Sources mention baths in Kingstown being built by the Royal Hotel in 1828 but were probably removed to make way for the construction of the railway. The first railway line in Ireland – Westland Row to Kingstown – opened in 1834.
    Kingstown 1800s
    In 1843, John Croswaithe(1794-1884) built the Royal Victorian Baths on the corner of Scotsman's Bay, at Queens Road. A range of bathing options were offered, including sea or fresh water, cold or hot water, or even medical baths. These baths were demolished in the early years of the 20th century to facilitate the widening of the road.
    Kingstown/Dun Laoghaire 1900s
    In 1896 Kingstown Urban District Council purchased the baths site and the firm of Alexander Fraser was engaged to build the new baths on today’s site. They were renovated them between 1905 and 1911 at a cost of £12,000. They became known as Kingstown Baths, and later Dun Laoghaire Baths.
    Kingstown/Dun Laoghaire 1900s
    The Edwardian entrance dates from this time. The works were completed in June 1908
    Kingstown/Dun Laoghaire 1900s
    In 1890, the Kingstown Town Commissioners established the People's Park on the site of a depleted quarry.
    Kingstown/Dun Laoghaire 1900s
    The baths were improved and extended in the 1930s and were in use in various forms, including Rainbow Rapids, until they were closed in the early 1990s. The derelict Baths were repainted in bright colours in 2012.

    The Lido

    The best-known sea-bathing places of today were established by the railway companies to encourage coastal businesses. The construction of the Dublin to Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) line saw the closure of the baths at Booterstown and Blackrock, as the bathing huts there were now cut off from the sea by the railway, which ran along an embankment across the shallow bay. While the arrival of the railway did spell the end for some bathing spots, it opened up other parts of the coast for bathing. Man-made baths became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century with the earliest sea-bath or ‘lido’ (an Italian word for beach, bespeaking elegance and cosmopolitan excitement) erected in 1833 at Lymington in Hampshire, England. The bathing pools at Clontarf, Sandymount and Dún Laoghaire all followed the style of the Lymington baths.

    Excerpt from
    The Ruins of Summer
    by Emma Gilleece

    Bathing and Swimming

    Humans dipped their toes in the water during the Renaissance and relearned to swim during the Enlightenment in schools, spas and barracks, but mass-participation swimming finally took off in the 19th century when the development of the railways gave millions of city dwellers access to seaside resorts and the enactment of the Baths and Washhouses Acts of 1846 and 1878 enabled English municipalities to build in-ground, heated pools in deprived urban areas. ( This trend extended to Ireland)

    Excerpt from
    How Europe Learnt to Swim
    by Eric Chaline

    “Swimming cultivates imagination; the (wo)man with the most is (s)he who can swim in a solitary course day or night and forget a black earth full of people that push.”

    A championship swimmer, cliff diver, vaudeville performer and movie star, Australian Annette Kellerman was a superwoman of the Victorian era. But perhaps her biggest legacy is something that benefited us all ~ the one-piece swim suit. It wasn’t easy to do the crawl stroke in pantaloons and a dress, so Annette designed a form-fitting alternative. Though considered risqué, it popularized the sport + lured women to the water.

    Excerpt from
    Quotabelle
    by Pauline Weger

    Nam in ullum delectus. Quo at nusquam tacimates quaerendum.

    Nam in ullum delectus. Quo at nusquam tacimates quaerendum.

    Nam in ullum delectus. Quo at nusquam tacimates quaerendum.

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