Dún Laoghaire Baths is transformed into Rainbow Rapids and opens with Ireland's first water slides.
Dún Laoghaire Baths in County Dublin has become Rainbow Rapids, two water slides, the first of their kind in Ireland.
The baths were threatened with closure in 1981 and Dublin Corporation hopes the new facilities run by a private company will make them profitable again.
Rainbow Rapids is operational during the summer months and can accommodate up to 250 users per day. As both of the indoor slides and the plunge pool are heated, Kevin Murphy one for three directors of Rainbow Rapids, hopes the facility may also remain operational during part of the winter.
Both Rainbow Rapids slides are 300 feet long and those using the attraction complete a circle before dropping 40 foot into a plunge pool. The duration of each whirlwind ride is approximately 30 seconds and experts can reach up to 15 miles an hour on their descent.
The slides are constructed of plastic using and 100,000 bolts. While similar slides can be found in Europe and the United States of America,
This is the first in Ireland and we are very pleased with the fact that it is of Irish manufacture.
Dún Laoghaire Baths have come a long way from the 1920s when the main pool was divided by a curtain, separating men and women.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 2 July 1985. The reporter is Mary Butler.
