File:NINE MILLION EURO REDEVELOPMENT (DUN LAOGHAIRE BATHS)-146546.jpg

English: The site has remained derelict since the closure of the Rainbow Rapids in 1997 and has attracted a lot of protest from various interested persons, groups and organisations over an extended period of time.

The redevelopment of Dún Laoghaire’s old baths began earlier this year and it is planned that the new public area will become operational early in 2020. The project will include the retention of the existing baths building and the development of a new pedestrian walkway between the promenade at Newtownsmith and the rear of the east pier. However, the site will not include a public swimming facility. A €9 million contract for the development of the site was signed between Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the SIAC and Mantovani construction group. The project is expected to cost around €10 million in total and has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

The public swimming baths at Dun Laoghaire originally date from the 1790s but were demolished in 1836 to make way for the new railway line. The old Victorian Baths complex was originally opened in 1842 and then rebuilt by the town council in 1908. In 1843, John Croswaithe built baths on the corner of Scotsman’s Bay. Originally known as the Royal Victoria Baths but access was limited to people with money. Kingstown Urban District Council bought the baths in the late 1890s and renovated them between 1905 and 1911 at a cost of £11,000. This is when they became known as Kingstown Baths, and later Dun Laoghaire Baths. During the 1970s heated indoor pools were added as well as a water fun park known as Rainbow Rapids. The complex was repainted in 2012 but remained in an advanced stage of dereliction until 2018.