By Joanne Rothwell
These days there are lots of articles about the benefits of ‘wild swimming’, but the healthful benefits of sea bathing and sea air have long been proclaimed. County Waterford as a coastal county had a number of sea-bathing locations. Tramore is one of the best known and was developed first by private investment at the hands of Benjamin Rivers of Rivers and Hayden Bank. Waterford County Council added a new promenade in Tramore, completed in 1914, to develop further what C.P. Redmond in Beauty spots in the south-east of Ireland and how to see them by car or cycle (London and Dublin, 1901) described as one of the most popular watering places on the southern coast.
But sea bathing was not without its dangers. On 24 July 1924 Kathleen Murphy of Main Street, Tramore, drowned after getting into difficulties. At the time, the life-saving equipment and boat provided by the Tramore Public Health Committee were located in the men’s bathing place, some five minutes away from where the women swam. The boat itself required four men to launch it but there were only two volunteers in charge of the boat, the two men who were providing bathing boxes at the men’s bathing slip. At the inquest it was reported that there were usually other men swimming who would be available to help launch the boat when needed, and that the two lifebelts were also located at the men’s bathing slip. Following this event, John McGurk of Tramore arranged in July 1929 for a Mr O’Brien of Talbot Street, Tramore, to serve as lifeguard in Tramore. The boat would continue to be supplied by the Tramore Public Health Committee. The lifeguard was paid for by a fund-raising concert held in August 1929.
Unfortunately, this arrangement did not remain in place, and in 1936 tragedy struck again when a Miss Agnes Barry of Scotch Quay, Waterford, got into difficulty and drowned. As a result of this tragedy, the Public Health Committee appointed a lifeguard for the bathing season at a rate of £2 per week. He was equipped with a jersey, a cap and a lifeline. By 1944 there were two lifeguards in Tramore and the Public Health Committee provided a portable hut on wheels to provide sleeping accommodation for them; it was located in the centre of the prom during the summer season. The lifeguards were equipped with two white sweaters with the words ‘Beach Guard’ across front and back, two pairs of tennis shoes, two whistles and lanyards and two bicycles. By this time Tramore was a well-established summer resort with three bathing coves—Ladies, Guillameen (for men) and Newtown (for mixed bathing).
Investment in sea-bathing facilities was an important part of the infrastructure put in place to bring tourists to an area. In May 1901 Thomas McCarthy, Dungarvan town clerk, placed an advertisement for ‘Dungarvan as a Health Resort’, highlighting the improvements made to facilities there:
‘The bathing facilities now include luxurious and well-appointed Turkish baths, later further enlarged and improved with every accessory of salt water, hot, cold, shower and spray baths …’.
These improvements were possible thanks to the bequest of Captain William Gibbons, which allowed Dungarvan town commissioners to upgrade the bathing place with concrete, new bathing boxes and cocoa matting for the springboard. By 1942 Dungarvan was in the process of upgrading its facilities further by providing a new outdoor public swimming-pool at the Lookout. In 1944 Westport, Co. Mayo, had also completed a new swimming-pool as part of a winter relief scheme of grants for direct labour projects. There were a number of such projects at this time and works were also carried out to improve existing facilities. Pools like the one in Dungarvan and in Dún Laoghaire were foreshore pools and were filled by the tide, with a valve system in place to let the water back out, which allowed the water to be changed.
Local swimming clubs held swimming galas each year. During galas there were no charges for entrants and the swimming club was charged ten shillings for the use of the pool. The Munster championships were hosted by Dungarvan Swimming Club at the pool in August 1946 and participants came from Cork, Limerick and Belfast. In July 1947 Miss Nancy Riach, British and Scottish swimming champion, and her brother Fraser gave an exhibition of swimming at the Dungarvan Swimming Gala. At the second gala of that year in September the highlight of the event was an exhibition of ‘plain and fancy diving’ by Eddie Heron, Irish diving champion. By the 1960s Dungarvan was hosting a popular gala week of swimming events at the pool. Safety when swimming continued to be a concern, and the Irish Red Cross Society provided a list of ‘Hints to Bathers in Swimming Pools’ in 1967 that included ‘Do not let your enthusiasm exceed your swimming ability’ and ‘Do not indulge in horse-play’.
Although the swimming-pool remained popular, the tides were turning and by 1975 the town clerk reported that the water-level could not be maintained, as the walls and floor were continuing to crack. For the next few seasons patchwork repairs were carried out to keep the pool open, but by May 1985 Patrick Walsh, town engineer, reported that the pool was a danger and it had to be closed, the walls demolished and the pool filled in. The members of Dungarvan Urban District Council asked for time to consider the decision, as the pool was such a popular amenity, but after due consideration the recommendation was approved and in August 1985 the bulldozers moved in.
Joanne Rothwell is Waterford City and County Archivist.