In Ireland, a “healthy addiction” to saunas at sea

After a swim in the icy waters of the Atlantic, Sharon Fidgeon dons a bathrobe and plunges into the warmth of a barrel-shaped sauna, feeling “incredibly alive” thanks to this currently postponed tradition.

“Having a sauna here allows me to stay a little longer in the sea,” adds the 52-year-old artist, mixing a few logs in the kiln of a small structure mounted on wheels on the beaten beach of Clonea (southeast ).
She admits that this activity has “become a healthy addiction”.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many Irish people took to swimming in the sea to escape confinement, and the activity was soon supplemented by the arrival of these barrel-shaped saunas, says Deirdre Flavin, who operates several in the region.
“The market continues to grow, the popularity of these saunas is growing, people value the experience and come back often,” she explains to AFP in one of these structures that she pulls in her car.

As well as having health benefits, they are also warm havens in Ireland’s wild and often wet and cold climate, points out Deirdre Flavin.
“People can now swim more comfortably in the sea all year round, because they can warm their bodies after swimming,” she continues.

Further down the south coast of County Cork, other guests hired a sauna to relieve stress and aid post-workout recovery.
Rory O’Callaghan, 20, explains that the activity is popular with his hurling team, an Irish sport played with a stick: “It’s become fashionable.”

Owner Bronwyn Connolly suffers from arthritis, and when public saunas were closed during the pandemic, she bought a portable one and towed it to Garrettstown Beach.

“I was in a lot of pain, and the sauna and cold water calmed it down, a dip in the sea after sweating managed to erase all my worries,” she told AFP.
When Bronwyn Connolly realized that sports teams and companies were becoming interested in it, she built a bigger sauna using books and YouTube videos.

Near a large window overlooking the beach, a group sits on curved benches chatting around the fire and admiring the ocean waves.
“It becomes a social activity, where friends meet and strangers turn to activities that are less alcohol-based and more wellness-based,” she said.

If her small sauna in 2021 was one of the first in the country, now they are “on all the beaches in Cork”.
Far from being new, this trend refers to the ancient Irish tradition of “sweathouses”, born in the 17th century and then falling out of fashion in the early 20th century.

Hundreds of remnants of these stone and igloo saunas remain in the Irish countryside. Heated on fire, they were used to treat colds, fevers, and even to fight rheumatism and arthritis.

To acknowledge this, yoga teacher Carol Ni Stasaigh and her husband Dara Kissane, a sports physiologist, have named their sauna on the Wexford coast the “Sweathouse”.

“In the past, people went there for medical, religious or even hallucinogenic reasons,” she explains to AFP at Baginbun Beach. “That’s not the case in our sauna, only hot-cold therapy, to release endorphins.”