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The decision!
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 Foundation Stone
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. -
Completion
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 i -
Official Opening
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 tourists to the town -
The Reopening
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. -
Impressive figures
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. -
The Baths Superintendent
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. Bradley was appointed by a majority of 8 votes to 3. -
Increase of receipts
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. -
Enhance the town status
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. -
Increased admission
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. -
Decline in the town
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. -
Promotion
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 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 remarked that Warrenpoint was losing out to Portrush and Portstewart. Unfortunately he was right -
A serious crack
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. -
Prosperity at the Baths
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. -
King & Queen coronation
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. -
New Superintendent
In May, Joseph Rice was appointed superintendent in the absence of Halliday and Thomas Mc Givern was made boiler man. -
Figures increase yet again
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. -
Operational during wartime
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. -
New appointments
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. -
Cormorant Swimming Club
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. -
Renovation completion
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. -
Final renovation costs
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. -
Queen of Tonga
In 1953 Queen Salote of Tonga stopped to have a look at the Baths. 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. -
Record level
In this season of the Baths the receipts hit a record level of £850. -
Bad weather
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. -
A grand visit at The Baths
There was the usual gala in the Baths and a visit by H.M.S Kilmorey to Carlingford Lough. -
Records at an all time high
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. -
Paul McEvoy's retirement
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. -
Second thought about prices
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. -
Private lease
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. -
Conversion of the pool
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. -
Reopened as a children’s pool
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.
