Re-opening Corbally Baths?

zulutango

Came across this blog post this morning. Makes good points about restoring the Corbally Baths for use as an open water swimming facility near the city.

https://hlymrekr.com/2017/07/04/time-to-re-open-the-corbally-baths/

johnnyryan89

Don't know how possible it could be but saw this the other day about Copenhagen and thought it was a brillant idea.

http://denmark.dk/en/green-living/copenhagen/swimming-in-copenhagen-harbour

zulutango

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Don't know how possible it could be but saw this the other day about Copenhagen and thought it was a brillant idea.

http://denmark.dk/en/green-living/copenhagen/swimming-in-copenhagen-harbour

It's somewhat appropriate that we look to Denmark for examples. We are a Danish City after all! I think the name of the blog I posted (Hlymrekr) is the original Viking name for Limerick, meaning "Mighty Noise".

Exeggcute

Would love to see it happen

Mc Love

Could this be achieved in the city centre? Maybe use the site of Limerick boat club to develop facilities and a bath arrs beside the clubhouse

OfTheMarsWongs

O'Dwyer Bridge to Corbally Baths would be a lovely cycle if the path was cleaned up and widened. I'd like to see priority given to the Island Bank renovations though. It's been closed for 3 years since the flood topped it.

johnnyryan89

Mc Love wrote: »

Could this be achieved in the city centre? Maybe use the site of Limerick boat club to develop facilities and a bath arrs beside the clubhouse

Was the first area I thought of when I saw what they did with the Copenhagen harbour. Have it set up down by poor man's Kilkee and incorporate the island where the boat club is.

OfTheMarsWongs wrote: »

I'd like to see priority given to the Island Bank renovations though. It's been closed for 3 years since the flood topped it.

Unfortunately can't see this being done for many years to come.

BobMc

A good idea in theory, in theory only.

I cant see residents going for it where the traffic has to travel thru (springgrove)

and secondly the largest proplem is the anti social behaviour it would bring, the area already lacks enforcement in
this area

but in saying that, I'd love to see it it' be like two mile gate but in the city

panda100

BobMc wrote: »

and secondly the largest proplem is the anti social behaviour it would bring, the area already lacks enforcement in
this area

It always annoys me when this is touted out as a reason to stop development. Why would it attract anti-social behaviour?

I think reopening of the corbally baths would be a brilliant idea. I went swimming for the first time through the city last week and it was amazing. Passing under Sarsfield Bridge and over the curraghower falls especially was such an experience. The water was fresh and clear and I could see all the way down to the bottom. Open water swimming sessions with Limerick Masters in Castleconnell or OBB with the Tri club are always very busy, so there is a real appetite for people to swim in the Shannon.

I suggest people start using it as a public swimming amenity if possible? Would it be safe to swim there?

jbkenn

Great idea, incidentally, the pool at St. Enda's was demolished this week to make way for a car park.

BobMc

panda100 wrote: »

It always annoys me when this is touted out as a reason to stop development. Why would it attract anti-social behaviour?

I think reopening of the corbally baths would be a brilliant idea. I went swimming for the first time through the city last week and it was amazing. Passing under Sarsfield Bridge and over the curraghower falls especially was such an experience. The water was fresh and clear and I could see all the way down to the bottom. Open water swimming sessions with Limerick Masters in Castleconnell or OBB with the Tri club are always very busy, so there is a real appetite for people to swim in the Shannon.

I suggest people start using it as a public swimming amenity if possible? Would it be safe to swim there?

Perhaps from experience, its already heavily used for anti social goings on and knowing full well the lack of not only effort but availability of Gardai it creates a magnet for it and the people living closest will suffer from it

zulutango

Anti-social behaviour and the perception or fear of it are often issues with these kind of things. Also, people use the threat of anti-social behaviour to stop projects like this happening and to keep an area exclusive for themselves.

It's worth mentioning that anti-social behaviour is preventable and shouldn't be a reason not to do something. Also, the locals are important stakeholders and their views should be taken into account. They are by no means the only stakeholders however. The greater good for the city should be served above all else.

keane2097

Are you more likely to have anti-social behaviour in a run-down, disused facility or in a facility that has been renovated and is in use by the public I wonder.

geotrig

the anti social aspect is moot point here really , there is already anti social issue there so wouldnt really be changed . If it was done right I.E open /clear pathways and add some cameras there would be no issues. I can imagine some people had the same reservations about the shannon fields path, my only concern would be around maintenance of it as we have a history if doing things and letting them go for a while then ,i'd love to see it happen.

Out of interest when did they stop being used , im almost certain i can remember them being used ,when i was very young ,but it could be my mind playing tricks

johnnyryan89

zulutango wrote: »

It's worth mentioning that anti-social behaviour is preventable and shouldn't be a reason not to do something. Also, the locals are important stakeholders and their views should be taken into account. They are by no means the only stakeholders however. The greater good for the city should be served above all else.

You ask the residents that live next to the baths and they'll say no imo, unless we have someone here that lives in the area and would know the opinion of some of the residents. They'll use anti social behaviour as an excuse, don't know what it's like now but when we used to hang around there ten years ago when 17/18 there was nothing happening but residents would constantly ring the guards cause they didn't want a crowd hanging around the area.

wingnut

I would say another reason is Limerick's famed compo culture. There would be head the balls breaking limbs jumping in , banging heads etc and suing the council of they provide the facility.

After the pitch invasion at the Gaeilc Grounds for example there were three PI claims against the GAA.

Some people ruin these things for everybody. Why we can't have nice things.

panda100

geotrig wrote: »

Out of interest when did they stop being used , im almost certain i can remember them being used ,when i was very young ,but it could be my mind playing tricks

I'm not sure but apparently people stopped swimming there because the water was unsafe?

osarusan

wingnut wrote: »

I would say another reason is Limerick's famed compo culture. There would be head the balls breaking limbs jumping in , banging heads etc and suing the council of they provide the facility.

That was a thought that crossed my mind too, but I wonder if the council aren't liable for it right now anyway.

Berty

Things that stand in the way. The original access is now a housing estate so a concern has to be measured towards their quality of life. I'm sure the original drawings(of the estate) didn't allow for an access way to the baths for public use so they'd be up against it in a big way. People are d*cks anyway so would park where they like, drive too fast and not pass anybody any apology.

As for compo claims, this becomes a 2 parter. Clare County Council have a swimming area, albeit indoors, and it's been there a long long time so they've seem to have managed it from that aspect. They also have all those beaches with rocks etc and it seems okay.

The other part of it would be that the health and safety crowd would be all over this and the baths would never look the same. They'd have railings galore, safety everywhere for fear of such compo claims and for injuries however minor or serious.

I remember the baths just before it closed and it was fine, I remember it before it was knocked as well and it was antisocial behaviour galore along with the usual smell of urine.

The Corbally baths gives me my last memory of the mill road because I remember cycling passed the entrance-way off the mill road when there was trucks galore up and down the mill road. One truck, after dropping off blocks/bricks, was passing me and had plastic flying in the wind as it passed me(only noticed as it snaked over my back). It, like a cartoon, then managed to wrap itself around my forks, through the wheels and around the handlebars before you could say "yoink" and the bike was ripped out from under me. I smashed, cartoon like, into one of the wooden poles and the truck relinquished it's grip on my bike as the driver continued on unknowing of my tumble(maybe he did )

panda100

Berty wrote: »

The Corbally baths gives me my last memory of the mill road because I remember cycling passed the entrance-way off the mill road when there was trucks galore up and down the mill road. One truck, after dropping off blocks/bricks, was passing me and had plastic flying in the wind as it passed me(only noticed as it snaked over my back). It, like a cartoon, then managed to wrap itself around my forks, through the wheels and around the handlebars before you could say "yoink" and the bike was ripped out from under me. I smashed, cartoon like, into one of the wooden poles and the truck relinquished it's grip on my bike as the driver continued on unknowing of my tumble(maybe he did )

That sounds both horrific and hillarious at the same time :pac:

I think people are being very cynical of others on this thread with talk of health and safety,compo culture, anti-social behaviour etc. I grew up in London where we had lots of public lido's and open air swimming areas. The positives of these sort of amenities far outweigh the negatives. If I knew the water was safe there I would go swimming there in the morning and save the trek out to castleconnell!

panda100

Went down to the old baths yesterday evening. It's so beautiful down there. A few of us are working on reviving swimming in that area, starting with a trip down there on Sunday. If anyone wants to get involved send me a PM

geotrig

panda100 wrote: »

I'm not sure but apparently people stopped swimming there because the water was unsafe?

I had assumed it was more down to lack of use or dwindling appeal over the years than anything ! ..although slighty different areas of the river Im fairly sure people still swan in the 40ft in the early 2000's at least and the canal also ,although i still see the odd person swimming there.
I had put the lack of people swimming in these areas down to the"pampered"generation not allowed and not bothered as they had/have so much more than the generations of before, as well as more swimming pools in the city in general, at the time the canal used to be fairly busy at both sides by the bridge in the summers

johnnyryan89

geotrig wrote: »

I had assumed it was more down to lack of use or dwindling appeal over the years than anything ! ..although slighty different areas of the river Im fairly sure people still swan in the 40ft in the early 2000's at least and the canal also ,although i still see the odd person swimming there.
I had put the lack of people swimming in these areas down to the"pampered"generation not allowed and not bothered as they had/have so much more than the generations of before, as well as more swimming pools in the city in general, at the time the canal used to be fairly busy at both sides by the bridge in the summers

People still swam on the Island Bank up to just before the flood and you had people swimming at the metal bridge only a few weeks ago, the water might not be safe but you still had people in swimming anyway.

geotrig

is it water quality that people are deeming not safe or just being in the water in general ? the water is probably in better condition now than it has ever been ! moreso than what we swam in in the 90's anyway ! flood gates always open and the dump to name two dangers !

Mc Love

People (youths) still go for a dip in the creek by the M20 - which is crazy dangerous.

naughtysmurf

The last Christmas day swim which I was at, at the baths was I'd say 6/7 years ago, it stopped because of the water quality AFAIK

Vehicle access & antisocial behavior will be two significant issues, the latter could be possibly sorted with CCTV & lighting, access will be a bigger issue, the council have a shrubbery just beyond the boundary with Spring Grove & they lock the access gates to the baths every evening & they are locked all weekend. The shrubbery has been broken into a few times with thousands of euro damage & theft

Spring Grove is a pretty quiet estate, I would doubt that the residents will welcome the extra traffic, not saying it couldn't be done with a bit of planning of lighting, CCTV, security, designated parking area etc

johnnyryan89

geotrig wrote: »

is it water quality that people are deeming not safe or just being in the water in general ? the water is probably in better condition now than it has ever been ! moreso than what we swam in in the 90's anyway ! flood gates always open and the dump to name two dangers !

Water quality I'd say, they stuck one of those signs up warning people about how poor the quality of water was in the Island Bank baths, that was 20 years ago and don't know whether they've tested it since.

I often remember when you swam down at the pipe on the island bank and everything was good until you heard the flush coming and it was all out to let it flow away and back in again haha.

OfTheMarsWongs

geotrig wrote: »

is it water quality that people are deeming not safe or just being in the water in general ? the water is probably in better condition now than it has ever been ! moreso than what we swam in in the 90's anyway ! flood gates always open and the dump to name two dangers !

Corbally baths are quiet overgrown in parts. Would imagine there'd be a lot of tree/bush roots etc underwater.

OfTheMarsWongs

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Water quality I'd say, they stuck one of those signs up warning people about how poor the quality of water was in the Island Bank baths, that was 20 years ago and don't know whether they've tested it since.

I often remember when you swam down at the pipe on the island bank and everything was good until you heard the flush coming and it was all out to let it flow away and back in again haha.

I swam a bit in Corbally in the 80s & early 90s. Always with old trainers on. Came home one day and my Mam was washing the mud off. Load of eel fry stuck in a hole in the sole of the trainers. RIP several baby eel.

somespud

The reason for the Christmas Day swim to finish up in the baths was a build up of silt which made it too shallow to swim.

irishproduce

Would the water in any part of the Shannon not be toxic? Imagine getting a mouthful of it

geotrig

well all the people doing the thomond swim last week looked ok afterwards ...no extra limbs when they were getting out or anything !....if you ask me the water quality is probably better than the early 90's !! we used to swim in a load of different areas . "the point" being the dodgiest being so close to the dump :sick: alot of eels around there as well

panda100

irishproduce wrote: »

Would the water in any part of the Shannon not be toxic? Imagine getting a mouthful of it

I've been swimming in the city numerous times over the last few weeks and am as still standing :pac: I say I swallowed half the Shannon during the Thomond Swim on Saturday as well!

The water in The Shannon is generally very clean and clear. I would be a bit more hesitant about the safety of the water near corbally baths as it could be quite stagnant in parts. There are queries in to the council to verify the water safety there before swimming begins.

somespud

Below is a link to a fantastic short video made by a Pat Howard of the Thomond Swim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oQyepOn5F8

Persiancowboy

I swam regularly in Corbally Baths as a youngster back in the early '70s. We also swam regularly in the Shannon Fields on the other side of Lanarone Bridge as well as at Plassey (up at the College).

I sometimes walk the river bank when I return to Limerick.....very sad to see the way these spots have deteriorated. I maybe wrong but I'm under impression that water quality all along that stretch of the Shannon is no longer fit for safe swimming (pretty sure there are signs to that effect along the way)?

Restoring the Baths would be a brilliant idea for the city....existing local swimming amenities are not exactly 10 a penny in the city.

John_Mc

irishproduce wrote: »

Would the water in any part of the Shannon not be toxic? Imagine getting a mouthful of it

The EPA is continually monitoring the river water quality. The WFD is a European scheme which is responsible for improving the quality of all water and it's the EPAs job to enforce it.

Checkout the GIS tool here: http://gis.epa.ie/Envision

You need to zoom into a smaller area before you're able to activate the River statuses (WFD). Around the Corbally area the water quality is identified as "Good"

panda100

John_Mc wrote: »

The EPA is continually monitoring the river water quality. The WFD is a European scheme which is responsible for improving the quality of all water and it's the EPAs job to enforce it.

Checkout the GIS tool here: http://gis.epa.ie/Envision

You need to zoom into a smaller area before you're able to activate the River statuses (WFD). Around the Corbally area the water quality is identified as "Good"

Wow that is an amazing tool. Very useful to know.

John_Mc

panda100 wrote: »

Wow that is an amazing tool. Very useful to know.

Yeah it is. I worked as a software developer for the EPA for a few years and they're really making the most from IT and making it accessible to the public. For example: https://www.beaches.ie/

naughtysmurf

Hopefully attached a few pics taken today, not 100% sure if doing it correctly, just to show the current condition, couple of kids & dogs swimming there this afternoon,

Mc Love

some of that looks like an overgrown pond!

somespud

The last time the Christmas Day Swim was held in the Baths.
https://youtu.be/XCwVbNRxFQA?list=PLEE30DA88605CA875

BobMc

Some history on the baths and some old pics of its original state that many may not have seen or remember

http://www.shannonrivercorbally.com/328891803

panda100

Those pictures are amazing and that video of the last Christmas Day swim is lovely. It's such a shame to see what was a great community focal point fall in to disrepair.

Does anyone have any memories or recollection of St Marys baths on King Island? They were upstream from King Johns Castle, just north of Thomond Bridge. I took a picture yesterday and the steps look like they are still intact. I wonder if there is plans to renovate the baths as part of the flood relief works?

OfTheMarsWongs

panda100 wrote: »

Those pictures are amazing and that video of the last Christmas Day swim is lovely. It's such a shame to see what was a great community focal point fall in to disrepair.

Does anyone have any memories or recollection of St Marys baths on King Island? They were upstream from King Johns Castle, just north of Thomond Bridge. I took a picture yesterday and the steps look like they are still intact. I wonder if there is plans to renovate the baths as part of the flood relief works?

The steps are intact. They raised the wall around afaik as part of the Verdant Place works. No word on whether they will be renovated as part of the overall bank works.

Kings Island Community centre have their annual community festival this Sunday. I believe the regatta is due to kick off at 4. They normally use the baths as the finish line. Loads of people sitting on/around the baths. Start line is Thomond Bridge.

panda100

OfTheMarsWongs wrote:

Kings Island Community centre have their annual community festival this Sunday. I believe the regatta is due to kick off at 4. They normally use the baths as the finish line. Loads of people sitting on/around the baths. Start line is Thomond Bridge.

Oh great will definitely head to that. Hopefully they will remove all the construction railing for the event.

OfTheMarsWongs

panda100 wrote: »

Oh great will definitely head to that. Hopefully they will remove all the construction railing for the event.

Here's the FB page for it:

https://www.facebook.com/St-Marys-Community-Festival-213394532006401/

panda100

August City Swims in The Shannon are being organised for anyone interested. First one on Saturday 12th August at 9.30am. Info here