Campaigners secure half the funds needed to repair historic 'American pier' in Cobh
Members of Meitheal Mara in a Bantry Long boat dressed at US WWI Navy sailors at the weekend's Heritage Week event at the American Pier in Whitepoint, Cobh. Photo: Gerard McCarthy
Campaigners have secured almost half the funding required to restore the historic ‘American pier’ in Cobh and say all that’s needed now is an application for State funding to help create a very special swimming spot in Cork Harbour.
The American Pier Cobh Association said they hope Cork County Council will now proceed to submit a funding application to the State’s ‘outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme’ fund before the October deadline in what would be a major step towards delivering the restoration project.
Association spokesman, Hendrick Verwey, said the group, which was set up to restore the World War I artefact — the only remaining physical reminder of the US navy's presence in the town from that time — said applying for funding under this specific scheme is a “no-brainer”.
“This kind of project ticks all the boxes under the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme,” he said.
“It should happen. It must happen. This funding stream is made for a project like this.
“The work to restore the pier has been estimated in or around €120,000. The scheme covers up to 100% of the costs of such projects. But we have pledges that would cover half the cost, so the council would only have to apply for half the cost of the work.
“The application must be made by a local authority so all we need now is the will to make this happen.”
US naval forces arrived in Cork Harbour in May 1917 as they stepped up their engagement against German U-boats which were targeting convoys off the Irish coast.
The ‘American pier’ was built in early 1918 over a 1900s-built cut-stone slipway to land injured servicemen for treatment at the US Navy Base Hospital No. 4 which was specially-built in Cobh nearby.
Once the navy left by 1919, the abandoned pier was used by generations of local Cobh families as they learned to swim in the Whitepoint area, where the structure provided shelter from strong tidal currents.
But the pier has deteriorated into a very poor structural condition over the last 50 years. Despite the damage, the remaining structure pier is still used by swimmers on an almost daily basis.
The American Pier Cobh Association launched its pier restoration campaign last summer by publishing a report it commissioned from heritage conservation specialists, Southgate Associates, which outlined three possible repair options. The preferred option, full restoration, was costed at around €120,000.
Mr Verwey said given the scale of investment planned in the urban regeneration of Cobh town centre, and the major improvements in water quality since the completion of the lower harbour main drainage scheme, an investment of €120,000 in the restoration of the American pier makes perfect sense.
In an event over the weekend supported by Cork County Council and the Heritage Council, members of the Whitepoint Open Water Swimmers (WOWS) group togged out in vintage 1920s-style swimsuits while members of the Cobh Animation Team donned their WWI nurse uniforms to bring history to life on the pier with the help of Meitheal Mara.
The event also included an outdoor photographic exhibition featuring incredible images courtesy of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, Imperial War Museum and newspaper archives.
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