Inchydoney BeachTwo halves of sand either side of a headland, joined to the mainland by a causeway near Clonakilty.Guide
Ireland's best beaches, province by province
Ireland has about three thousand kilometres of coast and the twenty beaches below are the ones we send people to, sorted by province so you can pick the one nearest you. The short answer if you want one name per province: Inchydoney Beach in Munster, Keem Bay in Connacht, Marble Hill Beach in Ulster and Curracloe Beach in Leinster.
Munster
The south and west coast gives you the widest range in the country, from surf strands to sheltered coves. Inchydoney Beach outside Clonakilty is two long strands either side of a headland, with enough room that a busy day still feels open. It is the one we name first because it works in any weather: the walk round the headland is as good in a gale as the sand is in July.
Lahinch Beach is the surf town of the west coast and still runs on it, with a beach break that suits a first lesson and a promenade behind it for the people who would rather watch. Further south, Tramore Beach is three miles of sand with a town at one end, and Clonea Beach near Dungarvan is the quieter one when Tramore is full.
Kerry has two that are nothing like each other. Castlegregory Beach runs along the Maharees between Tralee Bay and Brandon Bay and is one of the best places in the country for wind on water. Ballybunion is a proper Victorian seaside town with cliffs at both ends of the strand and a walk up on top of them.
Connacht
Connacht is where the beaches stop being amenities and start being scenery. Keem Bay on Achill sits in a horseshoe of cliff at the end of a road that climbs and then drops into it, and the drive is half the reason to go. Keel Beach, also on Achill, is the long flat one people actually swim at.
Dog's Bay Beach near Roundstone is white because the sand is ground shell rather than quartz, and it sits back to back with a second strand on the other side of the same neck of land, so one of the two is always out of the wind.
Sligo has three worth the drive. Strandhill Beach is a surf beach with a rip, so it is for watching and walking rather than swimming. Enniscrone Beach is five kilometres of hard sand you can walk for an hour. Streedagh Beach is the one with the history: three ships of the Spanish Armada went down off it in 1588.
Ulster
The three Ulster counties in the Republic mean Donegal, and Donegal has more good beach per mile than anywhere else on this list. Marble Hill Beach on Sheephaven Bay is the one we name first: a sheltered curve with Muckish behind it, shallow enough to be sensible with children.
Carrickfinn Beach is beside the airport on the far side of the county and has the strange distinction of being a blue flag beach with a runway at one end of it. Culdaff Beach on Inishowen is the north coast option, and the drive out to Malin Head from it is the most northerly road in Ireland.
Leinster
Leinster beaches are the ones most of the country can actually reach on a Saturday, which is their whole point. Curracloe Beach is eleven kilometres of sand backed by dunes and forest, and it is the best beach in the east of the country by a distance. Rosslare Strand further south is flatter, warmer and busier.
Closer to Dublin, Brittas Bay is the standard answer and deserves to be: dunes, a long shallow shelf and enough car parks that you will get in. North of the city, Laytown and Bettystown Beach runs for miles at low tide and is the long strand closest to the city. Clogherhead is the one to pick if you want a working harbour at the end of the walk.
The ones that are a walk rather than a swim
Four more are worth the drive even if you never take your shoes off. Mullaghmore Head is a headland with a surf reef off it that carries some of the biggest rideable waves in Europe on the right winter swell, and you watch it from the road. Downpatrick Head has a sea stack standing off it with the remains of a building on top.
Aughris Head has a cliff path and a pub at the end of it, which is the correct order. Kilkee Cliffs south of the Cliffs of Moher have the same geology, a loop walk and about a tenth of the people.
How to pick one
Wind decides more than sun does. A west coast beach in a westerly is loud and cold no matter what the forecast says about temperature, and the same beach in an easterly is still. Every beach on this list has a headland or a second strand beside it for exactly that reason.
Swimming is the part to be careful about. Surf beaches have rips, and a beach with no lifeguard in September is a different beach from the same one in July. Check locally on the day rather than trusting a page like this one.
Questions people ask
Which Irish beach is best for swimming with children?
Of the twenty here, the sheltered ones with a shallow shelf are Marble Hill in Donegal, Rosslare Strand in Wexford and Brittas Bay in Wicklow. All three are wide enough that a busy day still has space in it.
Are Ireland's beaches warm enough to swim in?
The sea around Ireland runs roughly nine to sixteen degrees through the year, coldest in February and March and warmest in August and September. People swim all year round at most of the beaches on this list. September is the month locals pick, because the water is at its warmest after a summer of sun on it.
Do you have to pay to park at Irish beaches?
Some of these have paid parking in summer and some have none at all, and it changes from year to year, so we are not printing figures. Assume coins or an app at the busier east coast beaches and nothing at all in Donegal.
The places in this guide
25 places, each with a page of its own.
Inchydoney BeachTwo halves of sand either side of a headland, joined to the mainland by a causeway near Clonakilty.
Keem BayKeem is a horseshoe of beach at the west end of Achill, down a cliff road out of Keel.
Marble Hill BeachSheltered sand between two headlands on Sheephaven Bay, near Port na Blagh.
Curracloe BeachThe dune backed strand runs north of Wexford town. The landing scenes in Saving Private Ryan were shot on it.
Lahinch BeachThe beach fills Liscannor Bay at the edge of the town, with a promenade behind it and a links course beyond that.
Tramore BeachLong sandy strand backed by dunes, south of Waterford city.
Clonea BeachSandy beach on Dungarvan Bay a few kilometres east of the town.
Castlegregory BeachA long strand on the north side of the Dingle peninsula, dunes behind it and Brandon Bay beyond.
BallybunionTwo beaches split by a headland with a castle ruin on it, on the north Kerry coast.
Keel BeachKeel runs long on Achill, with the Minaun cliffs behind it.
Dog's Bay BeachWhite shell sand in a horseshoe, on a narrow neck of land west of Roundstone.
Strandhill BeachThe surf beach west of Sligo town has a promenade behind it. The currents in the water are strong.More guides
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