Since the baths in Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire opened in the early 20th century, not one person has drowned in either pool but despite that both were closed back in the 1980s.
On a typical summer’s day at least three thousand people would pay into Blackrock Baths alone. Blackrock Baths also had the only Olympic diving platform in Dublin. It was also the main base for Leinster’s three thousand water polo players in the summer months.
In 2012 it was claimed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council that the remaining derelict structures had become unsafe and should be demolished due to safety concerns. Following an inspection by senior council staff, it emerged that the structures “have suffered from extensive weather damage and from the ravages of the sea”, making them and the adjoining land dangerous to the public.
The concrete had been seriously affected by the wind and waves, while the pool structure was beyond repair. The seating and changing block were in danger of collapse. The council also said that the guard rails to the upper seating area “have rusted away and the steps are exposed”, while the diving platform was seriously corroded and detached from the pool base.
During the 2012 inspection, the council noted extensive graffiti and rubbish in the building, “which suggested it is subject to regular unauthorised access”. It confirmed that it is not feasible to secure the site to prevent unauthorised access.
Following a consultant’s report, county architect Andree Dargan determined that the structures on the site were ‘dangerous structures’ and that “measures must be taken to remove the danger that exists”.
THE BANDSTAND IN BLACKROCK PUBLIC PARK 23 FEBRUARY 2008
Blackrock Park is a pleasant green area overlooking Dublin Bay, in Blackrock County Dublin, and boasts a well equipped children’s playground, cycle path and trees. There is also a picturesque pond containing a small island, and swans can regularly been seen there. The Peace Fountain in the pond was constructed in 1986 to mark International Year for Peace.
As already mentioned I discovered that I had a disk with a large number of photographs from 2008 but for various reasons I could not access or process them until now [December 2022].
I do not remember owning a Canon 24-105mm lens and it is all the more annoying as I recently purchased a Sigma equivalent to use with my Canon 5D MkIII. I should explain, many years ago I purchased a Canon 5D camera and it was an excellent camera but I made the mistake of upgrading to a Canon 1Ds MKIII which proved too be a disaster because the camera was faulty. I returned the body to Canon a number of times but they failed to repair an inherent auto-focus problem so I gave up and decided to switch to Sony. I sold the 5D at a very good price and gifted some lenses to friends but no one was interested in the 1Ds.
About a year ago I decided that I was going to dump the 1Ds but discovered that it produced very good results in manual mode and as a result I purchased a number of second Canon and Sigma lenses.
Earlier this year my local dealer offered me an unused Canon 5D MkIII [it was a demo unit] at an amazing price and I agreed to purchase it providing a GPS unit was supplied with it. I was very pleased with the 5D and purchased a second hand Sigma 24-105 which can be attached to my Sony cameras via a Metabones adapter.
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