Forty Foot

The name "Forty Foot" is somewhat obscure. On an 1833 map, the Marine Road (located to the west) was named the Forty Foot Road, possibly because it was wide; the name may have been transferred to the swimming place, which was called the Forty-Foot Hole in the 19th century. Other accounts claim the name was given by fishermen because it was forty feet ( fathoms) deep, but the water in the area is no deeper than . Others have attempted to link it to the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot, who supposedly bathed there, but they were stationed at Richmond Barracks in Inchicore. ==Use==

At first, it was exclusively a male bathing place, and Sandycove Bathers Association, a men's swimming club, was established. Later, a few women swam nude in 1989. Now swimming is open to men, women, and children. In 2014, the Sandycove Bathers Association ended the ban on women club members, The swimming club requests voluntary contributions for the upkeep of the area. ==Safety==

Death, near-drowning and hypothermia have resulted from swimming at Forty Foot. ==In literature==

James Joyce and Oliver St. John Gogarty once resided at the Martello tower together. It is now the James Joyce Tower and Museum. The opening section of Joyce's Ulysses is set here, with the characters Stephen Dedalus and Buck Mulligan being partly based on Joyce himself and Gogarty, respectively. Buck Mulligan described the sea as "The snotgreen sea. The scrotumtightening sea." The Forty Foot also featured in the novels At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien (1939), At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill (2001), Nessuna notizia dello scrittore scomparso by Daniele Bresciani (2017),The Elements by John Boyne (2025), and Again Rachel by Marian Keyes (2022). ==In media==

The Forty Foot is featured in the series Bad Sisters. In the 2023 documentary film Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, With Dave Letterman, David Letterman visits the location, which ends up serving as inspiration for the composition of a song by Bono and the Edge called "40 Foot Man" featured in the credits of the show. ==Further reading==

File:Forty foot pic.jpg|Forty Foot changing rooms and clubhouse kitchen, 2008 File:Sunrise In Sandycove Dublin Ireland (97559339).jpeg|Sunrise at the Forty Foot, 2015 File:Sunrise In Sandycove Dublin Ireland (97656477).jpeg|Sunrise at the Forty Foot, 2015 ==References==