Delight in Derry as City Baths finally open to the public

The pool had a soft-launch on Wednesday last week where a small number of user groups were invited to use the pool and facilities. Since then, Derry City and Strabane District Council, who run the baths, have begun to welcome schools and more members of the public to the centre.

Members of the public have been sharing their excitement with Leisure Area Manager Cathy Farren. “The customers are so upbeat and joyous to have the centre back open again,” she said. “The baths opened 64 years and some of these people were actually here from day one when it opened. The feedback's been amazing, there's been no negative feedback so far. They're just all delighted to be back into the pool.”

The works on the baths cost £1.2m but most of the work done, Cathy says, was invisible to the public. The baths were opened in 1959 so the plumbing systems were in need of an upgrade before it could be reopened. The pool was unable to be drained as it would cause too much damage to the pool so specialist divers were involved in the maintenance to allow the team to update the system.

Cathy continued: "A whole new fire alarm system had to go in, there was asbestos issues that had to be addressed before any work could commence and then basically downstairs a whole plant has been reconfigured and all the heating and water pumps as well. They brought a new process into an old pipe system so a lot of tiles had to be replaced even actually taken off the walls and panelling put over it. We also had to go through a whole new life guard process as well to ensure even further safety to the users. There's been a lot of work gone into the centre.”

In the new year, City Baths will host life saving and life guarding classes for schools and individuals in the area.

"We're all very passionate about that so we're going to be having City Baths as the hub for lifeguarding courses. We're also training staff to become swimming tutors so we can teach more people to swim and they could maybe go on to be life guards, life savers or join the City of Derry Swimming Board.

"We’re delighted to be back open and in January the programme is already getting very busy but keep a look out on our website and our media Facebook pages for updates. Everyone is welcome, even people who have never been to City Baths before can come and have a look. It's an excellent pool so everybody's welcome.”

Eugene Hillock, Chairman of City of Derry Swimming Club expressed his thanks to the Council and all the staff who worked on the refurbishment. He made particular comment to the raised learner’s pool in the Baths.

“This pool is one of the best learner pools in Ireland, a lot of people don't realise that,” he said. “It's simply because it's raised above the ground so teachers and coaches don’t have to bend and kneel down to talk to the children. The children themselves love that little depth of water, about two and a half foot deep so it’s a great pool for everyone.”

Eugene is hoping that the success of this opening will now push plans ahead to demolish Templemore Sports Complex and build a new one with a 50 metre pool. He says swimming in a 50m pool will help members’ swim times as they don’t have to do as many turns.

Paddy Cosgrove, Assistant Treasurer and Education Officer City of Derry Swimming Club said: “City of Derry has been here since 1959 and it's just great to get back again. This is a return to our spiritual home.

"We're very grateful that the council decided to refurbish the baths. There was a time when it was speculated this pool would never open again, but the Council went ahead and refurbished it. While it was closed for Covid and then to the refurbishment, The demand for swimming lessons was at an all-time high and the Council struggled to cope but they also accommodated us, our squads and our sessions as much as they could so we're very grateful for that.”

Leanne Mallet, Head Coach at City of Derry Swimming Club said: “This is the home of the swimming club and it's just so nice to be back in familiar territory. Even on the club nights, parents can be right along the poolside in the spectator areas watching their kids and the kids see them as well so there’s great security for everyone. We were rehomed between Foyle Arena and Templemore and they were very good to us and it worked out great but it's just fantastic to be back.”

City of Derry have big plans to bring back swimming galas to the City Baths as well as other competitions and events but first they are working on buying competitive swimming blocks, which can cost up to £2,000.

"We used to have blocks in this pool but they were very high and are no longer approved, so we’re looking to buy new ones,” Leanne continued. “The kids raised money to go compete in Leicester last year and we have some money left over from that, so the current swimmers are going to buy a block. We have some local businesspeople who swam as well, that are going to buy a block each so we think we've got enough for the five blocks, which is great.”

For more information on City Baths or to view the timetable, visit https://www.derrystrabane.com/services/leisure.