The Bay: Episode 4

May 25th, 2005, 7:30 PM, RTÉ One

Drawn to the Water

Episode Four asks why the bay is important to Dubliners - what draws the city's inhabitants to the water's edge week after week, and why are they prepared to pay so much for a house overlooking it? The programme ends by questioning the lack of an overall management plan for a bay with national importance.

Further information:

Without Dublin bay, the city might never have been established. Certainly, life in the capital would be a lot poorer if it didn't open out onto the sea.

Dublin needs the bay. For trade... but also for peace of mind. Even in the bad old days, when pollution threatened to choke the life from its waters, it still attracted people. Maybe not to swim in it, but certainly to walk by it, or live over it.

Today, as lives become even busier, that attraction seems more powerful than ever. But what is it about the water that draws us out of the city? Irish Times columnist John Waters discusses the attraction of water, and in particular the sea.

Others draw inspiration from living close to the sea - composer John Walsh explains living by the bay has become such a vital part of his work. The sea, he explains, helps to unlock ideas, and still impresses by its changing moods.

But living the bay is not for everyone - chiefly because of today's booming property market. And if the leafy suburbs of Terenure or Howth are out of most people's price range, it doesn't get any more expensive than in the capital's waterfront homes. In short, you need serious money to buy a view of the bay, and you should expect to pay a 25% premium for it.

One of the key challenges facing the bay is the lack of access points to it. For Labour TD Eamon Gilmore, the disused baths at Sandycove represent a chance to preserve this public access to the bay's amenities for future generations, rather than allow them to be sold off for private development.

So who is in charge out there on the bay? The short answer is that no-one has overall charge for all the events taking place on its waters, and most commentators are agreed that it needs at least one manager to look after its needs.

But Dublin Bay continues to draw people in, and it continues to survive as a national asset. More fascinating, perhaps, is its ability to be all things to all people - as a short walk along its shoreline will demonstrate.

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