It seems scarcely believable now, but Sandymount Strand in Dublin once had its very own pier, the only one of its kind in Ireland and with all the jollity of Blackpool or Brighton, writes Hugh Oram
Today, for anyone walking along the fine, lighted promenade that runs for about a mile along the front at Sandymount, what looks like blockhouse ruins in the sand is all that's left.
Since the 18th century, Sandymount Strand has been used as a bathing beach. Until the later 19th century, a whole row of bathing huts stood along the edge of the beach. Then, the Pembroke Town Commissioners, the local authority of the time, decided to do away with them. Someone had the novel idea of a pier that stretched for three miles, to the low water mark, but nothing came of it.
But not long afterwards, the Merrion Promenade Pier and Baths Company was formed and work got under way. During 1882 and 1883, the great concrete sea baths were built; these are the ruins that can be seen today. The baths were about 150 feet square and divided into two sections, one for men, the other for women and children. The baths were replenished once a day from a seawater tank that stood 500 yards further out.
Next came the pier, linking the baths with Strand Road. It was an elegant lattice-work structure with wooden decking, the creation of Frederick Morley, the company's technical expert. Halfway along the pier, a large shelter contained a bandstand.
When the pier opened to the public for the first time in 1884, the inaugural concert was given by the band of the Highland Infantry. From that May onwards, concerts were advertised on a regular basis. For many subsequent summers, concerts were staged every week on Tuesday and Saturday evenings.
At the Strand Road entrance to the pier, there were kiosks, while further along the pier, strollers could partake of all sorts of delicacies from the food stalls, including cockles and mussels dug up from the strand.
Sandymount Pier became immensely popular with local people, who would often sit out in summer in wicker chairs, taking refreshments, reading perhaps, in the gentle evening air, sometimes with music in the background. In an era when ladies wore long dresses and gentlemen wing collars, the pier became a place for delightfully casual relaxation.
The pier was still there when the young James Joyce frequented Sandymount Strand, but it became badly neglected after only about 30 years in service. By 1920, the pier had deteriorated so much that it had to be demolished. All the ironwork was carted off to the Hammond Lane scrapyard in Ringsend and these days, no trace exists of the old pier.
While the pier disappeared, other efforts to "improve" the strand fortunately came to nothing. In the mid-1930s discussion raged about where to site the proposed new Dublin Airport. Two hot favourites were the Phoenix Park and Tallaght, but the most audacious idea came from an architect and engineer called Desmond McAteer.
He wrote a very detailed article for Studies magazine in 1935, complete with extensive drawings. He suggested that one square mile of Sandymount Strand should be concreted over to form Dublin Airport. By his estimation, it would take five years to build, at a cost of £1.5 million. One big advantage was that it would be close to the railway line. Such an airport would have been fine for the small aircraft of the time, but not for today's jets.
Precedents do exist for seaside airports, like the magnificent one at Nice in the south of France. But somehow, a request from the cabin crew to "fasten your seatbelts for landing at Sandymount Strand" would have seemed just a little fanciful.
At the end of 1936, the decision was made to opt for Collinstown, the site of the present Dublin Airport and Sandymount Strand was saved. Other plans that came to nothing including a proposal in the mid-1960s from the old Dublin Port & Docks Board to redevelop part of the Strand for industrial use. Amid much controversy, that particular idea was also dropped.
In more recent times, the draft 1998 city development plan proposed an eastern bypass route running in a tunnel beneath Sandymount Strand, but over the last year or two, this brainwave has gone very quiet.
Perhaps what's needed know is some generous benefactor who will fund the rebuilding of the old pier. Gaiety would be restored to Sandymount Strand and Ireland would get back its one and only pier.