
One of the best places in the world to take a dip, according to an article in the New York Times, the Forty Foot in Dublin is world-famous.
The depth of the pool makes it an excellent place to dive in and many a Dubliner will have done this once or twice in their lives. It used to be reserved for men but it’s now a space for everybody to enjoy, owing largely to a group of feminists who dove into the pool in the ’70s. You can, however, still see remnants of the past in the signs along the front, calling it a ‘gentleman’s bathing place’.
As we all know, the Irish Sea is cold. So, if you’re not into throwing yourself at cold water from a height, you can always walk to the bottom of the steps and submerge yourself slowly. Of course, you don’t have to dive in to enjoy yourself, but this is what plenty of people do every Christmas Day when it really is cold
The view you get from the sea is amazing and you’re instantly surrounded by colour: the beautiful blue of the ocean and the vivid green of the mossy rocks. It’s a place to get lost in the landscape of Dublin. What you definitely won’t see, however, is ‘the snotgreen sea, the scrotumtightening sea.’ This is how Buck Mulligan, the main character of Ulysses, endearingly describes his dip in Forty Foot
This moment in James Joyce’s Ulysses is one of the reasons for Forty Foot’s fame and Joyce did once live in the tower nearby. This has now become the James Joyce Tower and Museum. Sandycove is worth a visit for that museum alone but, throw in a post-museum swim at Forty Foot, and you’ve got yourself a day out.