Throwback Thursday: Remembering Cork’s high diving star Brown Bomber

AND here we are on Leap Day in Leap Year, when everything is turned upside down, and all roles reversed.

Traditionally, this is when Ladies’ Choice operated, and girls could quite confidently propose to the young men of their choice, instead of hanging around waiting for him to summon up the courage so to do.

Do you know anyone who used Leap Day at the end of February to reverse the normal custom and do the proposing? And what happened? If you do, then please do share it with us!

It is the last day of February, and that means we are looking forward to the real spring, and beyond that the summer with all its outdoor opportunities. We were reminded of this by recent news stories in which the possibility of a new open air swimming pool in Cork was discussed.

That, of course, made everyone of a certain age remember the great old Lee Baths out on the Carrigrohane road, where so many learned to swim.

First opened in 1934, the Lee Baths boasted a pool 50 yards long, with a depth of 4ft at the shallow end and 7ft at the deep end. Small children were provided with a paddling pool.

In addition, a special diving tower was constructed, with a depth of 15ft below, to allow for very high dives. The highest board was always closed off, though, during normal pool hours, presumably to dissuade daredevil kids from dangerous escapades. It only came into its own at the big diving competitions, which were very much in vogue, and drew crowds from all over the country.

The facility became instantly popular, and much used by clubs like Dolphin and Sunday’s Well, that produced many a future swimming star. Many a kid growing up at that time also holds fond memories of ‘A Day at De Baths’ in the golden summers of childhood.

David O’Sullivan, now living in Vancouver, Canada, remembers the summer days of the 1960s spent at the Lee Baths as highlights of his youth. Living on the Model Farm Road, he and his friends would often go there twice a day in hot weather, spending two or more hours in and around the pool at a time.

There were some occasions when the baths had a free open day, and then everybody could go in - mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Normally, though, girls’ and boys’ days alternated, with everyone striving to become the star of the gang and swim or dive better than anyone else.

There was one real star, though, whose name has stood the test of time. Andy O’Brien, known dramatically as The Brown Bomber because of his year-round tan, was a lifeguard at the baths in the 1930s, and a spectacular high board diver.

We are fortunate that his son, Pat O’Brien, has consented to share his own very personal memories of his famous father with Throwback Thursday.

“The father of my brother Andrew and myself (we are originally from Victoria Cross) was known as the famous Brown Bomber - a high board diver at the old Lee Baths on the Carrigrohane Road,” said Pat.

“He was also a great swimmer, water polo player, and boxer, so quite an all-rounder. His nickname came after the boxer Joe Lewis, who was known as the ‘brown bomber’ in America.

He would have been one of the early lifeguards at the Lee Baths shortly after it opened, and , and later head lifeguard.

“During my own time at UCC, from 1965 to 1969, I followed in his footsteps by also working there as a lifeguard during the summer months.”

Usefully, Pat provides other names from those early days, which perhaps some readers may recognise.

“My father’s lifeguard contemporaries would have been Bert Driscoll, Gerry Scanlon, Myles Higgins, Josh O’Brien and Annette Russell - all from Cork.”

Any of those names strike a chord with readers? Let us know if they do.

Andy had many River Lee rescues to his credit, reveals Pat, “as at the time both the river and the baths would have been very crowded with many adults and children in summer time. Consequently, and unfortunately, there were a number of drownings, but my father played his part in avoiding many catastrophes and bringing people to safety.”

Andy O’Brien was known for running the Lee Baths with military precision, says his son, and the place was always spotless.

He was a well known sporting figure in Cork in the 1930s because of his prowess as a high board diver, winning many cups and medals for high board and spring board diving at both local and national diving championships in Ireland.

“Diving as a sport was quite popular in Europe at that time, particularly in Germany. My father always loved the outdoor life and had taught himself to swim at an early age. He had a natural ability for the sport. He played a lot of water polo and was a regular participant in the River Lee Swim, naturally.”

For swimmers back then, apart from the indoor Eglinton Baths behind the City Hall, adds Pat, there was a swimming area in the River Lee near the Lee Waterworks weir (just up from the present-day Kingsley Hotel) before the 1934 Lee Baths opened. The steps are still there, he says.

We can add to that two other well-known areas familiar to Corkonians for a refreshing swim back in the 1930s, and indeed up to the ’50s. One was the weir on the Lee just below Ballincollig Powder Mills. Families who knew the way would cross the fields and spend an afternoon by the weir, dabbling, paddling, and swimming, before going home to tea, tired out and content.

The other was the frighteningly-titled Hell Hole, across from the Anglers’ Rest at the end of the Carrigrohane road. This was regarded only as a place for strong and experienced swimmers, as the currents and unexpected deep pits made it dangerous for beginners.

As for the good old Eglinton Street indoor baths, we have visited them on these pages in the past, but are sure they will still evoke vivid memories for all the city youngsters who learned to swim there.

The exceptionally strong smell of chlorine which pervaded the entire place is remembered by many, as are the tough men and women who managed the male and female pools respectively, and took no nonsense from anybody.

Who recalls the great Gala nights when top swimmers from city schools showed off their prowess in races and diving displays? Those evenings usually ended with a display of lifesaving, where the ‘victim’, clothed in light dress and headscarf to give the best effect, was hauled competently to the steps by a smug fellow student.

In some ways, it is a pity we don’t have those baths today. All too many young people head to the beach on hot summer days with no experience of swimming whatsoever - sometimes with fatal results. But we imagine the space occupied by the Eglinton Street baths was far more valuable for commercial development. Isn’t it always the way?

Don’t it always seem to go

That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?

Razed the oul’ baths, put up a parking lot!

Pat has given us more details on his father’s background. 

He hailed from Shandon Street where his family had a public house and shop at the bottom of Dominick Street. His diving adversary at the time would have been Eddie Heron from Dublin. These two guys were the Irish diving stars of the time.

Yes, James Edward Heron certainly was an Irish champion. He won the British Diving Championship in 1932 and represented Ireland at the 1948 Olympic Games. A fitting adversary for Andy O’Brien, the Brown Bomber!

It does seem as though Mr O’Brien Sr had an inexhaustible source of energy. Aside from his swimming, high board diving and water polo prowess, he played rugby with Sundays Well and had a Munster Junior Cup medal for rugby (circa 1930s) where he played as hooker, son Pat tells us.

His father was also an excellent gymnast, wining prizes at many Feis Mathiú gymnastic displays in Cork.

After he married Eileen Cogan (from Ilen Villas on the Mardyke), the couple at Victoria Cross just opposite the Crow’s Nest.

“The house was originally built in 1879 as a toll house for tolling any farm produce coming into the city,” says Pat “The Superintendent of the English Market lived in the house before us.

In the 1940s, my father joined the Ford Motor Company, Cork, where he worked until he retired in 1972. He remained actively involved with swimming and diving coaching throughout his lifetime, though. He died in March, 1989.

So great was his fame, Pat tells us, that the Kingsley Hotel, which now occupies the site of the former Lee Baths, actually named one of its executive suites after him, describing it thus on their website:

THE O’BRIEN SUITE

Andy O’Brien, also known as ‘The Brown Bomber’, was a well-known sporting figure in Cork in the 1930s because of his prowess as a high board diver, winning many awards for high board and spring board diving at local and national diving championship level in Ireland. His image hangs in our Springboard restaurant.

Well, isn’t that a great look back to an athletic hero in Cork’s past? Thank-you so much, Pat O’Brien, for sharing those wonderful details with us.

We get plenty of emails here on Throwback Thursday, but from time to time we get beautifully handwritten letters from a lady called Rose, who is shy about giving her full name but has revealed that she lives on the Northside. Here is one we received the other day:

“Hi to all at Throwback Thursday! Rose from Ballyvolane here. Well, what can I say? I had to write to say that you simply made my day back in December with the photo of the slide down to Santa at Kilgrews.

I remember going down it in the 1950s when I was small. Over the years I wondered where it had been, but could never find out.

“Thanks for solving that for me. It’s great to go back in time!

“Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more childhood memories!”

“PS. I also remember Roches Stores’ side window which used to be full of toys at Christmastime. On Sundays, lots of people would bring their children to see it, and feel the magic of the season. Good old Roches again!”

That is a warming reminder of how much everybody enjoys the reminders of past times and past pleasures - times when life seemed carefree and the parents took care of everything.

It’s good for all of us, so keep on sending us in your own memories.

And Rose, we don’t hear from you half often enough!

Email jokerrigan1@gmail.com. Or leave a comment on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/echolivecork.