Overview
Portmarnock’s Velvet Strand is eight kilometres of firm, pale sand on the north side of Dublin Bay, and for a while it doubled as a runway. On 23 June 1930 the Australian pilot Charles Kingsford Smith pointed the Southern Cross down the beach and lifted off for the second westbound crossing of the Atlantic. Two years later Jim Mollison left the same sand in a de Havilland Puss Moth and became the first person to fly the ocean solo, east to west. The beach still holds a Blue Flag, renewed for 2026, and on a clear day Ireland’s Eye, Lambay Island and the Dublin Mountains line up across the water. If you’ve only twenty minutes here, walk out to the Eccentric Orbit sculpture and follow the line it draws to the North Star.
History and the flights off the beach
The name pairs the Irish port with Saint Marnoc, a monastic figure said to have landed here in the fifth or sixth century – the sources disagree on which. People were here long before him: Neolithic flints have been dug from the northern fringe, and a ring-fort still shows from the air at the south of the town. The ruins of St Marnock’s Church remain a quiet landmark, its graveyard holding local gentry and members of the Jameson whiskey family.
The coast left its mark in stone and metal too. One of the twenty-nine Napoleonic Martello towers built around Dublin still stands near the shore, thick-walled against a French invasion that never came. And the aviation history is fixed on the beach by the Eccentric Orbit sculpture, installed in 2002 by Rachel Joynt and Remco de Fouw. Built from limestone, bronze and stainless steel, it aligns with the North Star and marks three early flights that used this strand – the Southern Cross, Mollison’s Heart’s Content, and Faith in Australia.
Velvet Strand
The beach is open around the clock, and lifeguards cover it from early April to early October, with seasonal hours posted on-site. The marked swimming area sits near the toilets at the northern end; the wider shoreline suits the kite- and wind-surfers who come for the steady onshore breeze. Dogs are allowed on a lead.
One request worth honouring: the dunes behind the strand are fragile, and stretches are fenced off at times to let them recover. Stay off them and keep to the sand or the path. That path runs the full length of the strand toward Malahide as part of the Dublin Bay route, traffic-free for walking or cycling.
Golf
Portmarnock Golf Club opened on 26 December 1894 on the narrow peninsula that shelters the strand, and it is one of the genuine names in Irish links golf. It has hosted the Irish Open, the Walker Cup and the Canada Cup; firm fairways and open exposure to Atlantic weather do the rest. Next door, the Portmarnock Resort & Jameson Golf Links runs a separate course over the same dunes, laid out by Bernhard Langer, with a hotel and spa attached.
Village and around
The village centre is small and walkable. The St Marnock’s Church ruins make a short stop, and the 1847 Jameson family home now trades as the Jameson Bar. From here Ardgillan Castle is a short drive inland, and Balbriggan and Burrow Beach are an easy hop up the coast by bus or car.
Practical information
| Facility | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening hours (beach) | Open 24 hours; lifeguards on duty early April – early October (seasonal hours displayed on-site). |
| Admission | Free entry to the beach and promenade. |
| Parking | Strand Road public car park (free, five-minute walk). Charges apply at the Portmarnock DART-station car park. On-street parking in the village is free but limited – arrive early on summer weekends. |
| Public transport | DART to Portmarnock station (about 20 minutes from Dublin Connolly; on the line since 1844). Bus routes 32, 32X, 42, 42N, 142 and 102. |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair-friendly pathways along the main promenade; accessible public toilets at the north end. |
| Facilities | Toilets and a lifeguard station at the north end; seasonal food and ice-cream vans in summer. |
| Contact (golf club) | +353 1 846 2968 (clubhouse) – email via the club website. |
| Website | https://www.visitdublin.com/portmarnock-velvet-strand-beach |
Getting there and when to visit
Portmarnock is about 15 km north of Dublin city centre. By car the R107 runs there directly, roughly 40 minutes. The DART is the simpler option: 20 minutes from Connolly, then a short walk or bus link to the beach. Bus 32 tracks the coast from Talbot Street, while the 102 links the airport, Swords, Portmarnock and Malahide.
Check the tide before you go. Low water uncovers a wide, hard sandflat that walks for miles; a high tide pushes the sea up toward the promenade and shrinks the swimming zone to the marked area at the north end.