Past

In 1905 the Warrenpoint Urban Council finally reached the decision on the question of bathing facilities when they opted for the provision of a swimming pool. The final decision was taken on March 16th, 1905. All hope of a pier was now abandoned. The firm of Kaye Parry and Ross was engaged to design the new Baths. A sum of £5,500 was to be borrowed at four percent interest to be paid in sums of £500 as soon as possible.

The tenders for the building of the swimming Baths were considered by the Council in 1906. The firm of H. and J. Martin of Dublin/ Belfast was given the contract at a price of £4,750. In July 1906 the Council decided to invite Captain Hall's wife to lay the foundation stone of the new Baths and on August 10th of the same year Arthur G. Wilbond was made clerk of works at the Baths at a wage of three pounds a week.

The slow progress of the building of The Baths was causing alarm on the Council and engineers Kaye Parry and Ross were asked to put pressure on the builders to move the project along. But workers on the site were on the point of striking for better pay as they were receiving a mere three pence halfpenny an hour whether they worked night or day as it was necessary to suit the tide. The matter was resolved by an offer of five pence halfpenny an hour for night work. There was grave disappointment in store for the Council members when they learned that a serious defect had appeared in the outer wall of The Baths. This wall was moving slightly outwards as the tide ebbed and moving back in again on the flood The problem was cured by building strong supporting buttresses against the outer wall ( still in place ). And so, after a number of unwelcome scares, The Baths were completed on time.

The long awaited official opening of the new Baths took place on Whit Monday, June 8th, 1908. Captain Hall, local landlord, performed the ceremony in fine weather. It was a splendid occasion graced by the presence of Ireland's finest swimmers who had been specially invited. A Band Promenade added extra atmosphere to the occasion. A grand celebratory dinner took place that evening in the Great Northern Hotel when Councilors were heaped with praise for their efforts to provide the town with tourist facilities the equal of anything in the land.

Mr. Edward Sherman was appointed superintendent of the new Baths at a salary of £40 per year. The Baths were open on six days of the week from 7a.m. to 9p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and again in the afternoon from 2-30 p.m. to 5-30 p.m. The cost of The Baths to the rate payers in Warren point after the first year of operation was surprisingly small. The income and expenditure for the year 1908 were the following.

Total income £481 - 15s - 7d
Expenses £159 - 19s - 4d
Profit £321 - 19s - 3d
Contribution by G.N.R. Co. £75
Installments of principal £275
Year's interest £209
Deficit £87 - 3s 9d

A deficit of £87 was a small price to pay for a facility that added so much to the town's status as a tourist resort.

The members wanted to make the reopening of the Baths in 1909 a very special occasion and invitation was sent to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to perform the ceremony. The invitation was accepted and the date was fixed for Whit Monday, 31st May. A special collection was taken up on May 22nd to provide funds for the decoration of the town. It was a very special occasion in the town's history and passed off with great pomp and ceremony.

The numbers using the Baths in 1909 were published in March 1910. The total admissions numbered 55,127 and the receipts were £527 -6s -6d.

The figures were impressive and must have pleased the Council members.

In March the Council were making appointments for the coming tourist season when an impasse arose over a relatively unimportant affair. A Baths Superintendent had to be appointed and the list of applicants for the position was reduced to two - Mr. Edward Bradley, seaman, of Warrenpoint and Patrick Broderick, coastguard, of Omeath. Councilors discussed at great length as to which was more suitable but when it came to vote on the appointment there were six votes cast for each candidate and the Chairman Patrick O'Neill, refused to exercise his casting vote and would not be persuaded. The matter had to be adjourned. Surprisingly at the Council Meeting of April 6, Bradley was appointed by a majority of 8 votes to 3. Citizens of the own must have wondered what all the fuss was about.

Despite the bad times in 1918 there was one project that was doing well. The Council must have felt vindicated in their decision to build the Baths. In that year receipts were £507 - 8s - 4d, an increase of £64 - 0s 9d on the previous year.

The year was not a good one for business in the town but the Pavilion did manage to stay open and provide entertainment until the end of August and the Baths had a surprisingly good year. Takings were £751 -2s - 7d an increase over the previous year's £509 - 1s -2d. When it is considered that the cost of erecting the Baths in the first place was £4750 it can be seen that it was a wise decision and did much to enhance the status of the town at the time.

In March the Council decided that the price of admission to the Baths would be increased to 2d. It had previously been a penny. In spite of the doubling of admission charges the total takings of the Baths at the end of the season were £620 -0s -11d compared with £751 -2s - 7d. The decrease in visitors of visitors to the town was pronounced. The summer 0f 1920 didn't help either.

The month of September was good, weather wise, in 1921 and the Baths did well in that month but overall the income was down again by £17-2s-4d. Warrenpoint was further isolated when the railway decided to abandon all services to the town on Sundays from the beginning of October. Business on the trains on Sunday was so bad that income didn't even meet expenditure.

In a bad year the Town Clerk had some good news for members of Council. He was able to reveal that on Sunday, July 15th, a total of 1,200 customers had passed the turnstiles at the Baths. The news was enthusiastically received. Also in this year it was noted that the Baths never had any advertisements in the local papers to promote it.
William Johnson, Town solicitor, who did more for promoting the town and its tourist business than any other man over a long span of years, remarked that Warrenpoint was losing out to Portrush and Portstewart. Unfortunately he was right.

It was the best year for visitors to the town since the war. There was a great demand for boat and car licence's and even in June receipts at the Baths were up by £114 - 18 - 5d over the previous June, smashing all records. The Council were so impressed that they immediately decided to organize a swimming gala during the summer. It took place on July 18th and was well attended despite poor weather. The occasion persuaded the Council to form a swimming club, probably considering that it would lead to better usage of the Baths. Perhaps they were right. Receipts for the Baths for the year amounted to £740 - 16 -8d an increase of £276 - 16s -9d over the previous year. As a result the Council made an unusual gesture - employees at the Baths were given a bonus of £1 for their efforts.

There was still more bad news for the Council in May. The Town clerk had to report that a serious crack had appeared in the seaweed wall of the Baths and that the swimming pool was leaking water. Expert advice estimated the cost of permanent repair at £1500. It was an expenditure the Council was not to entertain that year and a temporary repair was immediately put in hand.

On Saturday the 14th July the town was packed, not only with Scottish and English visitors stopping in town but as with thousands of day trippers. It was a very hot day and both swimming Baths and sea were crowded with bathers.

A Belfast visitor to the Warrenpoint Baths wrote to the Irish News a letter highly critical of the state of the Baths, apparently inferring that they weren't clean. The Clerk, who swam in the Baths at least once and often twice each day, took the writer to task. He stated how often The Baths were cleaned out, how often the water was renewed and how many people had used the Baths that summer without complaint.

The figures are very informative. On Saturday the Belfast man had used the Baths, 550 had used the pool, 1728 had paid for admission and on Sunday the figures were 345 in the pool and 1435 spectators. Since the pool had opened on Whit Monday, 9000 had used the pool and 25,142 had been spectators. Not one had complained.

The Baths were busy in 1929, for by the end of the season the profits were up £669 - 9s -8d some £20 better off than last year

The weather that summer was not good but the Swimming Club made the best of it by organizing a number of galas the first of which was successfully run on Wednesday June 27th. Mr A. W. Halliday, who was to remain in the post for many years, was appointed superintendent at the Baths in May 1934 and it was over in the baths that year that the biggest controversy took place. The Council had decided to introduce mixed bathing, a decision that aroused great emotion in the town. In August a huge public meeting over the matter was held in the Square and Councilor O'Hanlon proposed and a Mr Gillion seconded that the Public refrain from using the Baths until segregated bathing was restored. Apparently the motion was passed with acclamation. At the Council meeting on August 20th a letter from Mr. J.M. Beggs, President of the Swimming Club, was read.

The Club, worried about the ill feeling in the town, asked that segregated bathing be restored in the Baths. As a consequence Mr. P. Fitzsimons proposed and Mr .P. O'Hanlon seconded that a direct negative. The following members voted for Fitzsimons' proposal - Messrs Hourican, Durkin, Fitzsimons, O'Hanlon (5) and for Pedlow's amendment - Messrs Caulfield, Savage, Pedlow, Green, Linden and Connolly (6). So mixed bathing it was to be. Whether it was the poor weather or the mixed bathing that was responsible, the Baths receipts that year were at an all time low.

Celebrations to mark the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were taking place all over the province that year. There was a gala day in Warrenpoint too. The children of the town were entertained to a party in the town hall where adults later listened to the speech by the King. That evening there were fireworks at the Baths and a fancy dress dance in the Alexandra Hotel.

The outbreak of war saw Mr. A. W. Halliday the Baths superintendent at the time being called up for active service.

The problem of the Baths had become acute by the year 1939. Their surveyor had told them that certain structures had become dangerous and that he would have to advise against re-opening for the coming season. Councilors were very concerned and asked the surveyor to put in place structures he deemed necessary for safety so that the Baths could be allowed to open. He did so but disclaimed responsibility for accidents that might occur. Although a plebiscite in 1938 had voted against renovating the Baths at a cost of £14,000, the council had not abandoned the scheme.

An official from government had been invited to inspect the Baths in August and was favorably disposed to the expenditure of £11,250 on the project. With grants, the cost to the Council would be only £6150. On the eve of the declaration of war that was how the position stood.

In May, Joseph Rice was appointed superintendent in the absence of Halliday and Thomas Mc Givern was made boiler man.

The receipts for the Baths were £453 - 14s -3d, up by over £100 from the previous year . For two consecutive years the receipts had increased. It may have been because there was nothing to do in the town during the bleak war-time years.

It was decided to operate the Baths again in 1943 during wartime and the usual appointments had to be made. Joseph Rice was again appointed superintendent and Thomas Mc Givern as boiler man.

There were new appointments at the Baths where L.G. Williamson replaced Joseph Rice and John Mulholland, Thomas Mc Givern. The year 1944 again brought increased business at the Bath. Receipts of £480-3s-d were up £110-3s-11d on the previous year. The good figures must have encouraged the Council to carry out their plan to renovate the Baths when the war was over.

By October the Council had been told that there would be no unemployment relief grant for the proposed work on the Baths. That put a stop to plans for major development. On Tuesday, June 5 th , 1945, a meeting took place in Irwin's cafe in Newry at which it was decided to form a swimming club to be based at the Baths. Mr Vincent Crawford was elected President and Mr, John C.O 'Hare, Captain. It was to be known as the Cormorant Swimming Club and was in post-war years very active in Warrenpoint.

The question of what to do about the Baths continued to occupy the Council during 1947. Warrenpoint Junior Chamber of Commerce wrote in January informing members that the organization was totally opposed to spending £30,000 on the proposed renovation. They argued that no grant was available, that winter gardens would be more beneficial to the town as there was no evening entertainment. They requested simply that the Baths be made safe. At their meeting on 3 February the Council rejected the advice of the Junior Chamber and confirmed their decision to spend up to £30,000 on the renovation.

A decision was taken in March to open the Baths for the season but to prohibit spectators from the deck because of is dangerous condition. This was in spite of the fact that the baths had lost £300 in the previous season. Receipts were better in 1947 at £368-19S-10d but there was consternation when the engineers now estimated the cost of the work- at the huge figure of £51,000. An immediate invitation to the engineers was sent requesting a representative of the firm to meet with members on the Baths Site. That is as for as far as the saga of the Baths had advanced at the end of 1947.

During the summer there was a treasure hunt and a display of diving at the Baths by the Munster champion, Captain O.P. Culhane.

Although the renovation of the Baths was not completed in 1949, it at least got under way. The more grandiose plans like the provision of a large restaurant on site had to be abandoned. The Ministry of Health were taking the project more seriously for early in January their chief engineer, Mr Duncan, was in consultation with A.P. Hendry consulting engineer of the designers, to discuss what should be done. Agreement was reached and the work was allowed to go ahead. The Council were anxious for the work to proceed rapidly and by early February were blaming Henry, in Dublin, for slow progress. It was thought at first that the work could be finished in four months, in time for the summer season, but it soon became apparent that this would not be possible

The loans that would be necessary to complete the project were discussed and at the beginning these were placed unrealistically low. By March the Ministry were advising the Council not to make application for loans until the figures were finalized. By July there was good news - a grant of £3000 towards the cost was being awarded.

The Baths project had been completed. Mr. A. Halliday, Superintendent at the Baths, died that year and was much missed, particularly in the Cormorant Swimming Club. Mr. Paul Mc Evoy was employed in his place.

By September the receipts at the Baths had risen to £668 - 19 -2d over £133 in advance of the previous year. A decision was taken to advertise that the hot baths of various kinds would be available throughout the year.

Other than the reopening of the Baths nothing else was done to promote the town. The final figure for the renovation of the Baths was £12,548 2s-1d.

In 1953 Queen Salote of Tonga stopped to have a look at them. Queen Salote was on a tour of Britain and staying at the Great Northern hotel. She brought international attention to Tonga by attending the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.

In this season of the Baths the receipts hit a record level of £850.

The Cormorant swimming club had a bad season due to bad weather but still held many events like galas, inter-club competitions and life saving.

There was the usual gala in the Baths and a visit by H.M.S Kilmorey to Carlingford Lough.

On the last Saturday in August came the annual Gunaway swim. It was also a great year for the Baths too. Receipts were £707-0s-1d up from the previous year's £498-3s-4d.

Mr Paul Mc Evoy retired from the Baths in April and the Council had great difficulty in getting a replacement for the job offering a wage of £8-10s per week. Eventually the position was filled but neither the new superintendent nor his successors remained in the post for more than a few years during the time left before Warrenpoint Council was disbanded.

In June the Council had introduced higher prices at the Baths and were quite taken aback at the extent of the opposition. Members had second thoughts and decided to cancel the increases. For some, the Baths was the one special feature the possessed.

It was decided to lease the Baths out to private enterprise and Mr, Norman Mc Kinley, a local man, took over the running of the Baths for the next number of years.

In June, 1974, the new Council decided that the Baths at Warrenpoint had no future. It was decided to convert the swimming pool into a boating lake and paddling pool and to seek the approval of the ministry of Commerce and the tourist board.

The Council decided to reopen the pool at the Baths for use in the summer months. As the pond had been filled in and was only about three feet deep it would be use by children only.