Blackrock Baths have been out of use since the late 1980s. It appears that the 1986 summer season was their last as a public amenity, and in 1987, they remained closed due to cutbacks (The Irish Times, September 7 1987, p.11). The Leinster branch of the Irish Water Polo Association made private use of the pools in 1987, doing extensive cleaning and repair work to make the baths usable again after a year of exposure to the sea – at this point, the 10m diving platform was put out of use for safety reasons. At this point, the estimated running costs for a summer season were £10-30k, depending on admission fees.

The sea baths of yesteryear lie abandoned at Blackrock, Sandymount and Dún Laoghaire. In 2012, the striking diving board at Blackrock was demolished on health and safety grounds, as was the viewing gallery that used to hold over one thousand spectators to see the great Eddie Heron, who won a whopping thirty-four national titles in both high diving and springboard events. The only trace of Heron’s  monumental achievements in the area are a plaque erected by the Sandycove Bathing Association at the bridge over the DART line.