The urinal at the Forty Foot bathing place in Sandycove was, admittedly, a stinky one. The gravity-operated trough was never effectively cleaned, so the stench was unbearable. It deposited its contents onto the rocks and into the sea, right in the path of unsuspecting swimmers of all ages, genders and hues. And as Dublin Bay finally recovers from years of receiving the city's raw sewage, it was hardly good policy, however natural. However, it probably offered the best view of any toilet in the county, as evidence provided by the Irish Times shows. Patrons could take in a vista as they took a ..... well, there's no need to finish that rhyme.
Nonetheless, it's now boarded up and out of commission - and this is the quote from the Irish Times:
"Local Labour councillor Jane Dillon Byrne, a year-round swimmer, said she welcomed the closure.
'The smell from the rocks below it from generations of gentlemen was noxious,' she said."
How the journalist refrained from some 'taking the p*ss' reference is beyond the rat.
So what now are the options for male swimmers who are caught short, and now cannot relieve themselves in the relative seclusion of the on-the-rocks jacks? To go furtively while swimming, possibly within metres of unwitting female swimmers who think their waters are free from pee?
All joking aside, there must be plenty of small acts of divisive yet enviromentalism around our coasts that give local politicians a chance to get a quote in the paper. So if a local councillor is blocking your loo, giving your public water access the slip or anything else punnable, it's up to you to inform me, and Water Rat on them.
