In Balbriggan, council plans revival of boat house and bath house for use by water sports clubs

Enormous foamy waves crashed against the lighthouse at the end of the harbour wall in Balbriggan on Tuesday morning.

Below the viaduct that carries the railroad along the coast, construction workers were busily redeveloping the Quay Street parking area.

They were fencing off portions of the street and the boat house under one of the viaduct’s towering arches.

The beach was populated by dog walkers, squawking gulls, spritely wagtails and a few brave souls stripping down to their togs for a sea swim.

Just over the hill, on King’s Strand, in the shadow of the Martello Tower, the tide was coming up a slipway to where a pair of crumbling late 19th-century structures stand.

Roofless and covered by a pale aqua tarpaulin, these are the town’s other boat house and an old lifeboat station, says Sean Keenan, chairperson of the Balbriggan Amenities for Sea Swimming (BASS).

They hadn’t been used for years, and their most recent function was as a family’s summer house in the 1960s, Keenan said. “Not sure if they had toilets. Don’t know what the setup was.”

But eventually, the small single storey buildings went into disrepair, he says. “And Fingal Council Council took ownership of [them].”

Now the council has plans for the two weathered structures, referred to locally as the boat house and bath house.

In December, its local community rejuvenation organisation, Our Balbriggan, said the eventual plan is to re-open the houses for use by local water sports clubs.

Now, in a report at the most recent Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords Area Committee meeting on 16 January, a council official said a design team is in place to oversee their refurbishment, with a completion date set for March 2026.

Finding interested parties

The boat and bath houses on King’s Strand were built in 1889, according to a 2021 conservation report for Bremore Park, written by Howley Hayes Architects.

The two buildings are protected structures and originally had a long-wooden jetty, which was used as a diving board, it says.

They fell into dereliction in the first half of the 20th century, before a family came and refurbished them 60 years ago, says local independent Councillor Grainne Maguire. “It was last used as a holiday home.”

But since then, they’ve just sat there, slowly falling into ruins, she says.

All of that changed with the establishment of the Fingal Rowing Club in 2016, she says. “It was said, ‘Well, this would be an ideal opportunity for them to use it.’”

A lot of the club’s boats are currently being kept over in the Naul, says Keenan, of BASS. “We’ve about five skiffs and a safety boat out there.”

They also have an enclosure up at the car park by the Martello Tower, but as they are looking to get a juvenile club going, having closer access to the water is preferable, he says. “It’s hard to get the boats up and down, dragging them down a public road,”

Niall Keady launched a petition in July 2020, asking the council to revive the so-called bath house and its pier, collecting a total of 782 signatures.

For the council, the best bet was always going to be if they aimed to create a shared facility, says Maguire. “Getting as many groups involved would tick a few boxes.”

Groups like the 89th Bremore Scouts have also expressed an interest, she says. “They were looking for a premises for their sea sports elements.”

It could also provide them a meeting room, she says.

Maguire had put the query into the council, asking if there was any timeline on the planned refurbishment and re-opening of the two houses.

Declan Ryan, a senior executive officer in the council’s Economic, Enterprise, Tourism Cultural Development Department, confirmed that the process was in the pre-pre-planning stages.

Surveys and screenings of proposals are due to be carried out between January and March, Ryan told councillors at the area committee meeting.

The council is aiming to seek planning permission through the Part 8 process – when it applies to itself for permission for its own projects – between June and July, before going to tender in the autumn, with works then planned from October until March 2026.

No organisation has locked down either the boat or so-called bath house. But a few have been engaging with the council about possibly using them once construction is done, Maguire said.

All of this is exciting news, says Padraig O’Connor, chairperson of the Fingal Rowing Club, in the seaside town.

“Securing this boathouse would not only provide us with a much-needed , permanent home, but it would also enable us to further engage with the community,” he said.

The boathouse would also give the club a chance to preserve and promote the tradition of skiff rowing in the area, he says.