When you think of beaches, Dublin probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. But alongside the pints, poets, and port culture, the River Liffey quietly flows through the heart of downtown. Walk beside it for a while and notice it gradually grows wider. Before eventually emptying into Dublin Bay, and into the Irish Sea.
Curving coastlines span the city’s entire eastern edge. Making way for little-known Dublin city beaches that are often wild, usually windy, and always cool to check out.
Longest of the Dublin city beaches
The longest and most beloved stretch of sand is Dollymount Strand, along Bull Island. It’s a favourite spot where locals walk dogs, kite-surfers launch from, and adventurous swimmers take dip into invigorating waters. At low tide you can walk for miles on the ocean floor, gulls circling overhead, and the skyline of the city off in the distance behind you. Nature and urban featured in the same frame.
Best stretch for sunset walks
Just south, the North Bull Wall juts out from suburb of Clontarf. The stone pier was initially built to tame the tides, but has since become a favorite promenade to walk at sunset. With skyline to your left, open sea to your right, and the Poolbeg Lighthouse glowing offshore, it’s one of the best places to take it all in. The port cranes, the church spires, the distant mountains, everything.
Reclaiming the land for recreation
On the south side of River Liffey is Shellybanks Beach. It lies beside and partly within Irishtown Nature Park – a reclaimed urban area that was a landfill until the 1970s. Today, dunes, walking trails, and wild grasses adorn it from end-to-end. The juxtaposition of green growth flanked by gritty industrial sites is a side of Dublin visitors don’t often see. But is worth the view.
Special spots for seeking solitude
Next door, around the corner to the north, is Half Moon Bay. Those who crave solitude will favour this tiny crescent beach with a romantic name. And those who like to gaze at the ocean. At sunrise, it’s said that the light turns the sea here to a shade of liquid pewter. An optical illusion enjoyed mostly by Dubliners.
My passion for seeking shorelines lead to Sandymount Beach at the edge of Sean Moore Park. An peaceful and unassuming spot where kids were quietly building sand castles, while their grandmother silently and gracefully practiced Thai Chi moves.
Most famous beach walk
Had I continued to venture south, I would have come upon one of the city’s most famous walks. It’s where James Joyce set the opening of the “Proteus” episode in Ulysses.A vast and introspective place that shifts with the tide, where a shimmering plain that mirrors the sky is revealed every time the ocean waters retreat. Making it feel as though you’re walking on clouds. A magical place where city, sea, and story meet.
Further south still is Merrion Strand, a quieter more contemplative spot that has been slowly reclaiming status as one of Dublin’s most peaceful coastal corners. Where the city’s south edge dissolves into suburbia. Where you can wander, and wonder, while watching ships come and go.
While you won’t find palm trees along the Dublin city beaches, you will find significant spots where the city greets the sea. Always steeped in that rugged Irish beauty.
