Irish Day Trippers Flock to the Seaside 1843 – 1970 | Season 4 – Episode 73
Floats, Wheels Sep 27, 2024
During the 1800s there was money to be made in attracting city dwellers to the seaside. But what could you do once you reached the beach?
THE BEACH
After enjoying a swim in the sea, a wide range of activities awaited you, your children, and your money including donkey rides, ice cream, fish and chips, oysters, merry-go-rounds, and open-air concerts. For adults, there were bars, tea rooms, hotels, and dance halls. From the 1930s to the early 1970s, the promenades of towns like Bray, Bundoran, Cobh, Salthill, and Warrenpoint were alive with the vibrant lights of amusement arcades featuring bumper cars, ghost trains, and candy floss.
THE WEEKEND
It was the introduction of the weekend that truly spurred the growth of seaside resorts. Before the 19th century, most people worked six days a week, with Sundays off. In 1843, workers’ rights activists in Greater Manchester successfully campaigned for early Saturday finishes, effectively creating the weekend. This change provided workers with both time and money, allowing them to flock to the seaside and the term “day trippers” was invented.
RAILWAYS
Ireland’s railway system beginning in 1834, was the first mode of mass transport to bring day-trippers to the seaside. The railway quickly expanded into both steam-driven and horse-drawn trains. They were soon followed by horse-drawn and electric trams, paddle steamers, and charabancs (open-topped buses), and eventually private cars became popular as well.
BRAY CO. WICKLOW
Bray or Bré in Irish located south of Dublin in County Wicklow earned the title ‘The Brighton of Ireland’ due to its popularity as a day tripper resort.
Following the opening of Ireland’s first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway in 1834, the town of Bray received an extension line connecting central Dublin that opened on July 10th 1854. The builder of the railway Carlow-born engineer William Dargan went on to build a promenade in Bray town in 1859. This was soon followed by other developers who quickly built amusements, tea rooms, bars, hotels and even Turkish Baths, to transform the town into Ireland’s largest seaside resort.
Day trippers came to the town in 1934 when Bray hosted Ireland’s inaugural ‘Round The Houses’ race, featuring 20 cars at the starting line and an estimated 80,000 spectators in attendance.
In 1950, Eamonn Quinn purchased the Eagle’s Nest Restaurant atop Bray Head. To improve access, he built Ireland’s first cable car, inspired by Swiss ski lifts. Opened in April 1952, the chairlift transported 300 passengers per hour, operating successfully until 1976.
BUNDORAN CO. DONEGAL
“Bun Dobhrain,” meaning “the foot of the little water,” is the Irish name for Bundoran in County Donegal. The town was first promoted as a seaside resort in 1777 when William Cole, Viscount Enniskillen, built Bundoran Lodge. This inspired many of his contemporaries to visit, drawn by the seaside and its perceived health benefits.
To bring in the day trippers the Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway opened on June 13th, 1866 and soon brought visitors from Ireland’s east coast, including Belfast and Dublin.
By the end of the 19th century, Bundoran had become one of Ulster’s main seaside resorts. In 1894, the Great Northern Railway built the 102-bedroom Great Northern Hotel. Notably, architect Thomas Drew was later commissioned for hotel designs in the County Down seaside towns of Rostrevor and Warrenpoint.
COBH CO. CORK
The town of Cobh (An Cóbh) is located on the south coast of County Cork, situated in a large natural harbour and was a popular seaside resort. Known as Queenstown from 1849 to 1922 after Queen Victoria’s visit, it reverted to Cobh following the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922. In the 1840s, George Brodrick, 5th Viscount Midleton, developed the town’s streetscape, leading to prosperity with the opening of Cobh Railway Station in 1862, which connected the town to Cork city in just thirty minutes. From the mid to late nineteenth century, Cobh expanded as a health resort and popular day trip destination.
The town was the departure point for 2.5 million of the 6 million Irish emigrants to North America between 1848 and 1950. On April 11, 1912, it was Queenstown, the Titanic’s last port of call before its maiden voyage. Today, 100,000 cruise passengers and crew arrive annually at Ireland’s only dedicated cruise terminal in the town centre.
SALTHILL CO. GALWAY
The seaside resort of Salthill or Bóthar na Trá in Irish is located 3 kms southwest from the centre of Galway city on the west coast of Ireland. From the mid-1800s, the area became a popular holiday spot for wealthy British landlords, and Salthill grew into a resort with casinos, pubs, and restaurants. O’Connors pub was established in 1845, and Claude’s amusement arcade, dated back to the 1870s.
In 1856 the promenade stretching nearly 3 kms was built attracting flocks of day trippers from Galway and beyond and the luxury Eglinton Hotel was built in 1860.
The Galway and Salthill Tramway Company began operating a passenger service on October 1st, 1879, built at a cost of £13,000 (€2.4m). The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge tramway ran from the city to a terminus on Salthill promenade. The initial fleet of six double-deck tramcars, built by the Starbuck Car and Wagon Company, each required two horses to operate.
Up until 2007, Salthill hosted an annual airshow that drew up to 100,000 day trippers.
WARRENPOINT CO. DOWN
Warrenpoint, or “An Pointe” in Irish, is a scenic County Down town at the head of Carlingford Lough, framed by the Mourne and Cooley Mountains. From a few houses in 1750, the area grew rapidly after the 1769 opening of the Newry Ship Canal, reaching 462 houses by 1837.
With a growing population wanting to travel to the seaside the Newry, Warrenpoint, and Rostrevor Railway opened in 1849. The railway never reached Rostrevor, so horse-drawn trams served the route to The Great Northern Hotel (where this author’s great-great-Grandfather was a Chef) via the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramway.
In 1873, the 41 km Dundalk, Newry, and Greenore Railway opened for business with an ambitious plan to reach a wider customer base by connecting to the London and North Western Railway through a ferry link from Holyhead, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, to Greenore, County Louth. On August 1st 1876 Omeath railway station opened giving tourists and day trippers access to Warrenpoint via a ferry across Carlingford Lough.
DECLINE OF THE SEASIDE HOLIDAY
By the 1970s, competition from foreign holiday destinations, combined with changing tastes and expectations, started to affect the once “traditional” family resorts, leading to a decline in our once-bustling seaside towns.
Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
Buildings of Ireland
Capuchin Archive
Cobh Historical Preservation Group
Discover Bundoran
Dreoilin Books
Erin of Old
Galway Advertiser
History in focus – The Sea – John K. Walton
Irish Railway Record Society
Kennys Bookshop
Media Storehouse
National Library of Ireland – The Lawrence Photograph Collection
Newry and Mourne Museum Collection
Newry History – Newry and Mourne Museum
Old Donegal in Colour
Old Warrenpoint Forum Facebook Page
Paul Bradley
Roaring Water Journal
RTE
The Days of the MV Naomh Éanna, Ireland
The Lorcan Film Unit
Tramway Systems of the British Isles
Check out our previous videos related to this story:
Steaming by the Irish Sea – September 2023 https://fb.watch/uRhPj1omLx/
The Four Cable Cars of Ireland https://fb.watch/uRhRL6rn73/
1930s Donegal Rail Car https://fb.watch/uRhXIWLQHS/
If you have an idea for a story, please email Kevin Reid [email protected]
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