A council manager has said that after improved flood defences and a new water main are put in at the Clontarf Promenade "would seem like a perfect opportunity to reimagine the area".
Campaigners pushing for the council to redevelop Clontarf Pier have released a new report finding that 94 percent of survey respondents support transforming the ageing structure into a modern public amenity.
The report, Reimagining Clontarf Pier: A Proposal for Action, published this week, calls on Dublin City Council to begin designing a replacement pier and slipway, alongside improved facilities for swimmers, boat users and visitors to the promenade.
It proposes separating swimmers and boats into designated areas, providing toilets and seating, improving access for people with disabilities, and incorporating the project into wider plans for coastal flood defences.
The 36-page document was produced by Clontarf Residents' Association and Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club, following a public consultation process that began last year.
The campaign was already gathering momentum in May 2025, with the two organisations seeking ideas from the public about how the pier could be improved.
Donal Heney, a member of Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and one of the campaign's organisers, said the report represented a substantial contribution to the discussion about the pier's future.
“We're delighted to get to this point,” he said.
The pier, built in 1952, is approaching the end of its life, he said, while the range of activities taking place there has also expanded considerably down the years.
“I wouldn't say there's conflict, but there is competition,” he said, referring to the different groups using the water.
“And it has to be organised,” he said. “The use of the amenity has to be organised so it can fulfil its potential.”
The survey received 748 responses, said Heney. Of them, 94 percent either agree, or strongly agree, that they'd like to see it "redeveloped into a modern space that meets the needs of today’s users".
Public toilets and seating attracted the highest levels of support among proposed landside amenities.
Toilets received 89 percent combined support, seating 93 percent, changing huts 82 percent, picnic benches 88 percent and a coffee shop 76 percent.
Showers, children's play areas and saunas attracted lower levels of support, although clear majorities still favoured all three.
On the waterside, the strongest backing was for a new pier and slipway, steps into the water and improved access for people of all abilities.
Safety also emerged as a priority, with strong support for separating swimmers and boats into designated zones. Just six percent opposed that proposal.
Heney said the consultation had been designed to gather more than a simple yes-or-no answer.
“It's not a polar questionnaire,” he said. “It's a spectrum of opinion.”
The survey initially took place online, with organisers later introducing an anonymous option and distributing paper questionnaires to broaden participation.
The report says the existing pier, which is owned by Dublin City Council, is in poor physical condition, with cracked concrete and corroded metalwork.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, swimming and other recreational activities have increased significantly, Heney said.
At busy times around high tide, as many as 150 people can be using the pier and surrounding area, he said.
He fears that, without action, the council might eventually have to close the structure on safety grounds.
“We certainly don't want a situation to arise where DCC leave it so late that they actually have to close it and stop people from using it because it's a hazard,” he said.
The report also places considerable emphasis on improving accessibility.
The Irish Wheelchair Association, which contributed to the consultation, recommends accessible pontoons, hoists and transfer systems to enable people with disabilities to participate in water-based activities.
The report also calls for a Changing Places Facility, “recognising that standard accessible toilets do not meet the needs of many people with disabilities”. As well as accessible parking, step-free routes and a disability advisory group to help shape the design.
Heney stressed that the campaign was not proposing a finished design but identifying what a new facility should provide.
“That needs to be professionally designed by engineers,” he said. “We're not saying what it should look like.”
The report recommends that Dublin City Council lead a formal design process, involving local organisations and the wider public.
Independent Councillor Kevin Breen welcomed the report and said it was time for the council to act on the work carried out by local volunteers.
“I think it's absolutely fantastic,” he said. “The Reimagining Clontarf Pier initiative is a real credit to all involved.”
Breen said the pier had served generations of people in Clontarf but was overdue substantial investment.
He recalled visiting it as a child to catch crabs using string and pieces of rashers.
“It's time now that investment is put into a new slipway at the Clontarf seafront that will last for the next 74 years,” he said.
The next step, he said, was for the campaigners to present their findings to Dublin City Council, with local representatives pressing for the project to progress to the design stage.
“The ball is in their court,” he said.
Breen also backs the proposal to coordinate the redevelopment with the planned flood-defence works along Clontarf Promenade.
He said it would make sense for the two projects to proceed together.
Heney agrees, saying the pier could become a centrepiece of the wider promenade redevelopment.
But the campaign cannot itself commission designs, seek planning permission or apply for the necessary public funding, he said.
That responsibility now rests with the council.
“We're just a small group of people,” Heney said. “The only thing we could do was raise awareness.”
Breen and fellow councillors Clodagh Ní Mhuirí of Fine Gael, Alison Field of Labour, Deirdre Heney of Fianna Fáil and Donna Cooney of the Green Party brought a motion about the pier to an April 2025 meeting of the council's North Central Area Committee.
It asked the council to "support and work with" the campaign to reimagine Clontarf Pier "in their efforts to engage the local community and develop a proposal for the future of the slipway and surrounding area".
A written response, from Fergus O’Carroll, senior executive parks superintendent at the council was that there are two big infrastructure projects proposed for the area.
Presumably referring to the council's longstanding plan to improve flood defences along the Clontarf Promenade, and Uisce Éireann's plan to put a big new water main under the Prom.
Once those are completed, that "would seem like a perfect opportunity to reimagine the area. In the meantime the Parks Service is more than happy to continue discussions with the Yacht Club and the local Residents Association," O'Carroll wrote.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
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