The Lure of the Sea in Georgian Ireland

Abstract

From the mid-eighteenth century seaside resorts began to develop in Ireland and the practice of sea bathing was first popularised. The convergence of coastal development with contemporary medical theories and a cultural and philosophical interest may not be coincidental. This article uses a range of sources to suggest that the aristocratic appreciation of seascapes may be rooted in a wider eighteenth-century philosophical discussion on the nature of taste and all its forms. The sublime aesthetic articulated by Edmund Burke dovetailed serendipitously with the concurrent notions of the healthiness and therapeutic benefits of the sea and sea air which led the aristocracy, as social leaders, to build or reorientate houses to give views of, and access to, the sea. This article traces the development of an aristocratic interest in the sea and sea bathing and its influence on coastal landscapes and the creation of seaside resorts in Ireland.