The Old Cliff Baths of Enniscrone

The Old Cliff Baths are located to the end of the promenade on the northern end of Enniscrone beach. It was built there on the rocks in 1850 by the Orme family, The Orme family owned extensive property in county Mayo and also around the village of Enniscrone. Robert Orme was the owner of several properties in the village of Enniscrone, Carrowhubbuck South, barony of Tireragh, at the time of Griffith's Valuation. These properties had valuations of between £12 and £20. McTernan notes that one of these was Orme's Lodge which remained in the family until the 1930s. It subsequently became a hotel and was demolished in the 1990s to make way for new house building. Orme's Lodge was located to the left of where Ropers pub is today and is now the private dewelling of the Maughan family who are also the private owners of the Cliff Baths.

Not long after it was built it was badly damaged in a hurricane. To the front of the Cliff Baths there is a large rectangular pool hollowed out of the rock that filled with each tide. It was carved out of the rock so that baths would have a supply of fresh seawater even when the tide was out. Very quickly this man made pool was given the nickname “The Baby Rock” by mothers of the village who would bathe their children in it during the warm summer months. In more modern day the pool became known as the “Crab Pool”, were children still today, gets hours of enjoyment trying to catch crabs, which got trapped in the rock when the tide goes out.

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