Forty Foot

First time in Dublin during spring? Looking for something exceptional to do with your time there? Fond of doing challenges with friends? A wee dip good enough? Well, I have got an idea. The Forty Foot title may sound rather odd to you and perhaps you would not guess what's the meaning behind it. Let me shed some light on one of the most sound and grand places for cold exposure training.

Forty Foot is a promontory on the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin, Ireland. The origin of the name is negotiable, however, one of the most widely acknowledged theories is that the depth of water at the bathing place is supposedly forty feet deep. Sounds fair, no? People have been indulging in swimming and doing cold training there all year round for some 250 years. While I am not sure if "indulging in" is the most fitting phrase for cold training, it's undoubtedly an enjoyable activity for many who partake it. Initially, Forty Foot was exclusively a male bathing place, and Sandycove Bathers Association, a men's swimming club was established. Due to its relative isolation and gender-restrictions it became a popular spot for nudists. Later in 1974, about a dozen of female equal-rights activists went swimming there and sat with placards. Even more women visited the place and even swam nude there in the later eighties. So, it gradually became an open and restriction-free space for all genders and age categories.

An interesting tidbit is that James Joyce and Oliver St. John Gogarty once resided at the Martello tower together – it is now the James Joyce Tower and Museum and the opening section of Joyce's Ulysses is set there with the main characters being partly based on James and Oliver themselves, respectively. The Forty Foot also featured in other novels and it even occurred in the 2023 documentary film Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, With Dave Letterman. Dave Letterman visits the location, which ends up serving as inspiration for a song composed by Bono and The Edge called "40 Foot Man," touching on Dave himself.

It is a lovely and delightful spot to spend time at with friends, family or on you own at peace <3

resources: wikipedia, other internet websites 

author: Lolita