Most of what this page covers sits north of the city, along the Fingal coast between Sutton and Balbriggan, and much of it is on the coastal railway line. Portmarnock’s Velvet Strand is the long one, flat Blue Flag sand firm enough that Charles Kingsford Smith used it as a runway in 1930, with a promenade running roughly four kilometres north to Malahide. Malahide’s own strand flies a red flag year-round for its currents, so treat it as a walking beach and swim at High Rock or Low Rock instead. Burrow Beach at Sutton is a 1.2 km tombolo of dune-backed sand tying the mainland to Howth Head, with views out to Ireland’s Eye and Lambay.
Further north the beaches come in pairs. Rush and Skerries each have two sandy strands, Rush with free parking and Skerries walkable from its harbour and windmills. Portrane splits between the long Burrow strand and the stony cove at Tower Bay under an 1804 Martello tower. Barnageera is the awkward one, reached on foot down the Lady’s Stairs from Ardgillan Demesne, with no shops, toilets or lifeguards.
Only two entries sit outside that run: Killiney, a pebble beach 15 km south with its own DART station, and Dollymount Strand on Bull Island, five kilometres of wind, kite-surfers and wintering waders six kilometres from O’Connell Street.
Long, flat Blue Flag sand on the north coast, firm enough to have served as a transatlantic runway, and an easy DART trip from town.
Two beaches in one stop: a long sandy strand for a swim or a stroll, and a stony Martello cove with a sea sauna.
A working seaside town 34 km north of the city, where the beach sits under a railway viaduct with Ardgillan Castle just up the coast.
1.2 km of soft dune-backed sand linking Sutton to Howth Head, with summer lifeguards and long views across to Ireland's Eye and Lambay.
Five kilometres of sand along Bull Island, a protected reserve given over to kite-surfers, dog-walkers and winter waders, free and close to the centre.
18 of 18 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Portmarnock, dublin
Portmarnock's Velvet Strand is a long, flat Blue Flag beach on Dublin's north coast, its sand firm enough that two pioneering aviators used it as a runway across the Atlantic in the 1930s. It's an easy DART trip from the city, with lifeguards through the summer and a promenade walk south towards Malahide.
Portrane, dublin
Portrane is really two beaches – the long sandy Burrow strand, good for a swim or a stroll, and the small, stony Tower Bay below an 1804 Martello tower, now with a sea sauna and coffee truck. The dunes back a National Heritage Area on the Rogerstown Estuary, busy with wintering birds, and the coast here is actively eroding.
Balbriggan, dublin
A working seaside town 34 km north of Dublin, Balbriggan made the fine cotton stockings once worn by Queen Victoria and the Russian Czarina. The draw now is the beach beneath its railway viaduct, a Napoleonic Martello tower and Ardgillan Castle and demesne just up the coast – though the harbour itself is a building site until the rejuvenation works finish.
Sutton, dublin
Burrow Beach is a 1.2 km tombolo of soft sand and dunes that ties Sutton to Howth Head, with long views across to Ireland's Eye and Lambay. Lifeguards patrol summer weekends in June and daily in July and August, and the water consistently rates 'Good' for quality. Go early or midweek: on hot summer weekends the crowds and litter can be grim.
Clontarf, dublin
Dollymount Strand runs 5km along Bull Island, an accidental sandspit thrown up by Victorian harbour walls and now a protected nature reserve. It's a walking-and-wind beach rather than a swimming resort – kite-surfers, joggers, dog-walkers and, in winter, thousands of wading birds. Free, six kilometres from O'Connell Street, and you can drive onto the sand.
Donabate, dublin
Donabate sits on a peninsula between two protected estuaries in north County Dublin, half an hour by train from the city. The reason to come is Newbridge House – the only intact 18th-century demesne landscape left in the county, with a working model farm – backed up by a Blue Flag beach and good winter birdwatching on the Rogerstown Estuary.
Killiney, dublin
Killiney is a long pebble beach 15km south of Dublin city centre, with its own DART station right beside it and views over Bray Head, Dalkey Island and Sorrento Terrace. It held on to its Blue Flag in 2026; bring swim shoes, because it's stones, not sand.
Malahide, dublin
Malahide's main strand is a walking beach, not a swimming one; it flies a red flag year-round for its currents, and the safe dips are at High Rock and Low Rock nearby. The real draw is the flat four-kilometre promenade to Portmarnock's Velvet Strand, past Martello towers with views to Howth and Lambay Island.
Portmarnock, dublin
The Velvet Strand runs eight kilometres of Blue Flag sand on the north side of Dublin Bay. Charles Kingsford Smith took off from it in 1930 on the second westbound Atlantic crossing, and a shore sculpture still points to the North Star. Behind the beach sit one of Ireland's great links courses and a Napoleonic Martello tower.
Rush, dublin
Rush blends an easy seaside day out with some of the most argued-over archaeology in Ireland. Its twin beaches have free parking – a rarity this close to Dublin – while the Drumanagh headland keeps yielding Roman-era finds that hint at contact with the empire.
Skerries, dublin
Skerries is a coastal town 30 km north of Dublin, easy to cover on foot: two sandy beaches, a working fishing harbour lined with seafood pubs, and the restored windmills of Skerries Mills. Its history runs from a 5th-century monastery on St Patrick's Island to a Napoleonic-era Martello tower on Red Island.
Sutton, dublin
Sutton sits at the neck of the Howth peninsula, a 20-minute DART ride from Dublin, and its draw is Burrow Beach: 1.2km of dune-backed sand looking out to Ireland's Eye and Lambay Island. It is a Green Flag beach with summer lifeguards, but the tides and currents are strong, so it is for walking more than swimming – and on a hot day go early, before the crowds. There is also an 1804 Martello Tower at Red Rock, now a self-catering let, and a 9-hole links course.
Portrane, dublin
The car park here stood in for Craggy Island's Funland fairground in the first episode of Father Ted. Beyond the screen trivia, it's a compact pebble-and-sand cove under a restored Martello tower, with rock pools at low tide and water that reaches swimming depth within a few metres of shore.
Skerries, dublin
Dublin, dublin
Killiney, dublin
Sutton, dublin
Sandymount, dublin
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