The proposed Dublin City Lido at George’s Dock. Photo: dublincitylido.com After Ireland’s incredible Olympic triumphs in the pool recently, thoughts turn once again to the question: why don’t we have a world-class, public outdoor swimming facility in Dublin city? Sure, the Clontarf Baths are a wonderful amenity, and we have no shortage of sea swimming spots along the coast, but think of how great an all-season, 50-metre Dublin lido could potentially be.
If you’ve been to London this summer, you’re surely familiar with how popular, and beloved, the city’s 17 lidos are. This week, a new GoFundMe fundraiser was organised by Dublin City Lido George’s Dock committee. Through it, organisers hope to convince Dublin City Council (DCC) to fund a new realistic design for a public swimming facility and green space.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. The amenity, per the committee’s plans, would also potentially have diving boards, saunas, water gardens with public seating, performance areas, and a restaurant/café.
After meeting with Dublin city managers last year, it had been concluded that in order for the campaigners to engage further with them, a more rigorous feasibility/design process would be required. And lo, the conceptual plans and images presented to DCC are a thing to behold. The project would certainly enhance the area, but has not been without its critics.
Local activists justly note that they’d rather see funds channelled towards addressing the real challenges facing the local community, from housing and drugs to safe spaces for kids and childcare. Lidos in Dublin are not an entirely new concept: the Dun Laoghaire swimming baths were a popular amenity nearly 100 years ago. Historically, Dun Laoghaire was one of several therapeutic spa towns in the country, where people took hot and cold water sea baths, seaweed baths and ‘needle’ baths (a series of sprays designed to stimulate the organs).
In any case, the recent invigoration of the Dublin lido dialogue has got me thinking. Leaving aside the very considerable issues like rent, cost, anti-social behaviour and the disturbing number of new hotels aside, what might Dublin need to bring it in line with the best of other major European cities? Many of us have been away this year to other European cities this summer, and can only marvel at how right certain places do things: their safe yet vibrant night culture, their myriad outdoor dining options, the infrastructure that hints at an element of joined-up thinking. A workable underground transport system in Dublin, the type already long in operation in countless European capitals, would be a great place to start, if a major one.
That we don’t have an underground subway system has left many a visitor to Dublin scratching their heads. The potential reopening of the Iveagh Markets has been mooted by many as a great way to enhance the city. I’m not the first person to wonder what a food market, similar to the multi-vendor Time Out market in Lisbon, might look like within the beautiful Iveagh Markets structure.
Dublin’s nightlife scene is also in dire need of oxygenation: two decades ago, there were around 520 nightclubs in Ireland, and now there are under 80. The number in Dublin can be literally counted on two hands. Fortunately, the appointment of a night-time economy ‘Tzar’ — former concert promoter Ray O’Donoghue — augurs well, and hope is rising that Dublin’s city economy can finally be revitalised.
But what of other, perhaps smaller measures? Where are the indoor soft play facilities for kids in the city centre? Where are the clean, workable public toilets? Where are the free little libraries, where people can bring a book to or take a book from an on-street storage box? What about a better selection of late-night socialising spaces for non-drinkers? Where is the selection of coffee shops that open until 3am? There are countless changes, big and small, that would make Dublin a better place. Some are within our own hands, most not. Is a Dublin lido in the city centre a good place to start with all of this? The jury is still out.
But those conceptual images created to show its potential hint at a truly wonderful amenity, at the very least. Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Stay up to date with all the latest news.
