Do you remember Iona Baths in Glasnevin?

karakorak

I looked online for information about Iona Baths, a swimming pool that used to be in Glasnevin during the 1960s and 70s. As I can find no mention of the pool, I wonder if it has been demolished.

Do you know when it was built and what was its fate, and when? What was its address: Iona Road, or elsewhere? Thank you.

Esel

I don't know if it was called Iona Baths, but there was a 'private' swimming pool at the rear of a house on the Finglas Road (near Hart's Corner) - the house is on the corner of the road that leads into St. Vincent's School. It fits your timeframe.

I think the family may have been called Fleming, but I could well be wrong on this.

karakorak

Esel wrote: »

I don't know if it was called Iona Baths, but there was a 'private' swimming pool at the rear of a house on the Finglas Road.

Thanks, Esel, that's interesting but it sounds like some local prosperous person who could afford to dig a pool in their garden.

The pool I have in mind was a public pool that lots of children went to for lessons on Saturdays in 1969-70. I assume it was used the rest of the week, too.

Esel

The one I mentioned was not a pool dug in a garden...

Just in case it might be the one you are asking about, there was a 25m pool in St Vincent's school which was open to the public. It closed in the recent past.

Ste.phen

Esel wrote: »

The one I mentioned was not a pool dug in a garden...

Just in case it might be the one you are asking about, there was a 25m pool in St Vincent's school which was open to the public. It closed in the recent past.

I used it as recently as ~1.5 years ago, i didn't realise it had closed.

karakorak

Esel wrote: »

The one I mentioned was not a pool dug in a garden...

Just in case it might be the one you are asking about, there was a 25m pool in St Vincent's school which was open to the public. It closed in the recent past.

Oh I see. I thought it was in someone's garden from your description of "a 'private' swimming pool at the rear of a house". Thank you for the clarification.

The Wikipedia article for St. Vincent's C.B.S. used to say, "The school's facilities include a 25m swimming pool (used by students and the general public)" but this was edited on 29 September 2011 (by someone in Hartford, Connecticut, no less) so now the article says "The school used to have a 25m swimming pool (used by students and the general public); but this is no longer in use due to the high expense of repairing the facility after some winter storm damage." The school website says, "The swimming pool was built in 1968."

I cannot tell if this pool was the one I swam in in 1969–70. I was young and did not pay attention to the context of the pool — whether it was a corporation or school pool — to me as a child it was just a pool, and I knew it, rightly or wrongly, as "Iona Baths". Still, I find it very suggestive that the St. Vincent's pool was built the year before I began swimming in Glasnevin. There is an aerial view of the Vincent's pool at Google Maps, and a ground based view of the building in Google Street View.

Thanks for the replies.

millie35

That's definitely the pool you remember. Owned by St Vincents and open to the public at certain times. Back in the day there weren't many swimming pools in Dublin. I had lessons there too.

Citizen Six

It's now demolished.

celica1994

thats pretty sad to see, you would think they could have least raised some funds for refurbishment rather then let that happen

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122647851#Comment_122647851

Pools are closing down quite regularly actually. Vincents pool originally closed due to issues with the roof, but then one of the bad cold snaps we had finished it off.

spurious

I'd say insurance costs put paid to any ideas of refurbishing.

Strumms

Vincent’s was where I learned to swim in the mid 1980’s. Late Saturday afternoon or early evening….Always seemed a bit of an antiquated facility even in those days, especially the changing rooms…

For whatever reason I ended up moving to the De Paul pool over on the Navan road, a much nicer, more modern and comfortable facility. Excellent instructors and staff too…

Vincent’s…

L1011

Photo may not be helping but the roof looks, well, manky there.

Citizen Six

No diving boards in those pictures. They used to have two wooden boards. 3 foot and 6 foot I think.

Guinness pool used to have boards as well, which got taken away at some stage. Hard to find a pool with decent boards these days. Insurance reasons I guess.