Overview
Both of Rush’s beaches have free car parks, which is worth stating first because it’s rarer than it sounds this near Dublin – most of the city’s strands charge or cram you onto a verge. Rush (Irish: An Ros, from Ros Eó, the headland of the yew trees) sits on the coast between Skerries and Lusk, about 25 km north of the city, with a population of around 10,000. It’s still a working fishing and market-gardening town at heart rather than a resort, which is much of its appeal: two sandy beaches, a small harbour, and one of the more intriguing archaeological sites in the country a short walk from the sand.
History and heritage
The headland north of North Beach has turned up Neolithic flint tools and a passage grave, so people have lived here for a very long time. By the 18th century Rush was known as the market garden of Ireland, its fertile soils supplying Dublin with vegetables and herbs. The maritime past runs to smuggling – local legend still tells of Jack Connor, a Robin Hood figure who worked from a nearby cave – and to the pirate-turned-privateer Luke Ryan, born here in 1750.
The site to see is Drumanagh, an Iron Age promontory fort guarded by one of two Martello towers built in 1804 against a Napoleonic invasion. A community archaeology programme led by Fingal County Council has pulled Roman-era pottery, Iron Age combs and a fragment of a woman’s skull dated to 170 BC–52 AD out of the ground here. Whether this marks genuine Roman contact with Ireland – a trading post, even a beachhead – is one of the liveliest arguments in Irish archaeology, and the digs are ongoing.
Two miles north of the village, the neoclassical portico of Kenure House stands alone in a field. It’s all that survives of a grand mansion demolished in 1978, and it has since served as a film backdrop. The name comes from Ceann Iubhair, the headland of the yew trees – the same yews that give the town its Irish name.
Religious history survives in the ruins of St Maur’s chapel at Whitestown cemetery, a 12th-century Anglo-Norman site linked to a legend of French sailors who vowed to build a chapel after riding out a storm.
Beaches and coastal walks
The two beaches offer different things. South Beach runs 2.4 km, backed by dunes, with views to Ireland’s Eye and – on a clear day – the Poolbeg towers across Dublin Bay. The prevailing south-westerlies make it one of the best kite-surfing spots on the east coast, and surf schools run here in summer. Lifeguards patrol from late June to early September, and there are toilets at the car park; the promenade is wheelchair-friendly, with boardwalks and ramped access.
North Beach is quieter and a designated conservation area, home to terns, gulls, oystercatchers and curlews, with access to the Martello tower and the headland walks.
Inland a little, Rogerstown Park has a playground and green space with views across to Lambay Island – the one place in Ireland where you can spot the island’s introduced wild wallabies from the shore. The adjacent Rogerstown Harbour is home to Rush Sailing Club and the launch point for trips out to Lambay.
Food and drink
The high street keeps a decent run of pubs. The Harbour Bar is the local pick for seafood chowder and pie; The Carlyan, The Strand, Walsh’s and the Drop Inn all do a relaxed post-beach pint. Independent cafés and bakeries line Drogheda Street.
The Millbank Theatre, home to the Rush Dramatic Society, stages plays and children’s shows through the year. There’s a 9-hole golf course just south of South Beach, and Naomh Maur GAA and Rush Athletic F.C. keep the town busy at weekends. In summer the Rush Harbour Festival (July) brings boat races and seafood to the waterfront, followed by the Rush South Music Fest in August.
Practical information
Getting there
- Bus: Bus Éireann route 101 and Dublin Bus 33, 33A and 33X serve Rush, with the 33N Nitelink on Friday and Saturday nights. Buses are the more practical option than the train.
- Train: Rush & Lusk station (opened 1844) is on the Dublin–Drogheda commuter line, but it sits about 3 km from the town centre, so walking in from it isn’t ideal without a lift or a connecting bus.
- Car: Take the M1 (Exit 4 for Lusk/Rush/Skerries). Both beach car parks are free year-round.
Nearby attractions
- Skerries: Just north, with its lighthouse, fishing harbour and windmills.
- Baldoyle: A short drive south, with riverside walks and a historic harbour.
- Balgriffin: A neighbouring coastal village with a small marina and walking routes.