Known locally as Jamesons beach this is a real hidden gem - in fact I shouldn't even be telling you…read moreabout it ! So at the risk of getting thrown out of "The Peninsula Club" here goes. The beach lies at the bottom of the cliff path between Sutton and Howth. It is directly beneath the house that was occupied by the Jameson family (yes the whiskey dudes) and there is a little tunnel from the house that leads to the cliff path. They had children who liked to swim in the ocean but they were worried that they might swept out to sea and end up on the beach in Wales. So Mr.Jameson built a wall in the sea and in doing so created a makeshift seawater swimming pool. There is a big diving rock on the outer edge and a small little pool in the shallows for the littlest swimmers. Sadly due to the power of the sea a lot of the walls have crumbled but you can still see them at low tide. The beach itself is quite small but the views are spectacular. The path down although partly paved is steep and rocky so not suitable for small kids or those unsteady on their pins. To get to the beach you can walk up along the cliff path from Sutton or walk down from the Summit or Carrickbrack Road - There are a few other access points to the cliff walk

Get yourself to Malahide Marina Centre on Dublin's next sunny weekend. It is such a peaceful,…read morebeautiful area just 30 minutes north of Dublin and it is well worth the visit. For those into boating there are 350 berths at this marina, but I definitely recommend it even if you're not planning to set foot on a yacht. There is an amazing park right next to the marina which is great for family fish and chip expeditions and for relaxing with friends. The walk around to Malahide Beach is wonderfully picturesque and well worth the effort (and it's not far - only about 15 minutes). Malahide itself is a very relaxing village, with loads of cafes, bars and clothes shops to admire. A day at Malahide will make you feel like you've stepped right out of Ireland and into some Mediterranean seaside village. And anywhere in Ireland that can trick the mind in this way is definitely worth seeing!

This is a lovely place to visit and look at the boats and walk along the sea and take in the…read morerelaxed atmosphere or just having a coffee or ice cream and just enjoying the lovely view from the benches at the green! Easy to reach by bus or Dart! Malahide Castle just 5 min away, great for walks and big adventure playground for the kids.

One of the most amazing beach in dublin. Liberty is the word. You feel appart and you can have an…read moreinspiring walk on the beach . Colors of the sunset are amazing.

I think this is the closest to a beach Dublin has to offer. A little away from city's usual hustle…read morebustle, this place offers a pleasant change. A good location for a run/ walk. Wish there wasn't low tide most of the times I have visited. Would love to see a real beach but hey the view is good particularly on a nice sunny day.

Gorgeous weekend destination with lots to do and see in the downtown area and the outskirts. Plan a…read moresummer getaway here and include taking in the lough, beaches, castle and monastery ruins, downtown area, restaurants featuring oysters, and overall natural beauty!

A sanctuary in Ireland, we came to this beach that was simply heaven on earth. Perfect for long…read morestrolls on the beach with your dogs. Big sand dunes line the beach with sand speckled with shells and round stones. Only 60 minutes away from Dublin city center and plenty of parking.

Roughly an hour away from our door in Dublin is Brittas Bay Beach, which is pretty fantastic in my…read moreopinion. 4KM of beach. Sandy beach. With sand dunes. This is stuff great childhood memories are made of. Fantastic. Now I've not had the chance to get into the water here, but it looks pretty good to me.... as long as I have my wet suit ;) There are great facilities here too, a car park, lifeguards during the summer months and decent enough toilets WITH toilet paper. I would imagine the toilets are abused on busy days... sorry that's the cynic in me, so BYOP. The notice board here is full of useful information also, including info to a website called www.jellyfish.ie. Who knew that existed, I didn't :) There is also a but... the south car park costs 4 EUR to get into. OK, so the money goes towards the car park, the lifeguard and the toilet maintenance. But I do think this is a bit steep if you are just dropping in for a look. But if you are going for the whole day, its fine. FYI the car park gates are unmanned and take coins, so make sure you have the right coinage with you before to depart for Brittas Bay. Also, the south car park closes at 8pm according to signs.

It's a sandy beach! Nice, clean, fine, lovely-to-walk-in sand!…read more In the last spate of sunny weather, I trekked out to Killiney thinking this was the spot, the pretty spot the place to go. Pretty yes, nice to sit down or lie on, no! It's all stoney and not conducive to the lazy beach day you would generally have in your mind. Now as for Portmarnock! I had quite the opposite image in my mind, especially after the recent press, but ladies and gentlemen, you will be rather pleasantly surprised if you take the trip out here! Ice cream vans, sculptures, a nice grassy verged area, a huuuuggge beach that goes on for miles, and - wait for it - SANDY sand! The only cautionary note I will end with is - if you're not a major fan of teenagers, or perhaps the younger childer - perhaps stay away. The place is jam packed full of em! The further down the beach you go (away from the parking), the better. You get better sand, more of it, and you are less likely to have to stick some ear plugs in! Re. the parking - we ended up driving into one of the local estates as we couldn't find room anywhere along the roads, and the White Sands Hotel was charging a tenner (TEN EURITS!!) to make the most of their tarmac!

When I have worked too much and have too many tests to correct and too many lessons to prepare and…read moretoo much going on (wow I need to breathe!), I cycle all the way from Dublin centre to this beach. I love cycling and this route is about 17 kms long and I love every second of it! This place makes me feel peaceful and the strand is very long with beautiful rocks and scenery. If you do not exercise that much, there are buses and a main Dart train line in this area too. There is also a Martello tower overlooking the beach, a very local small ice cream stand besides several hotels along the path and a nice monument to honor the first solo westbound transatlantic flight which began there. When you are in the middle of the beach you can see a bit far away Ireland's Eye, a tiny uninhabited island directly north of Howth Harbour. I swim most of the times when I am feeling brave enough and the waves can be quite rough so you need to be a kind of good swimmer.

I don't know how I never knew this beach was here! I felt like my Dub credentials were under threat…read moredue to my ignorance until I realised that apparently nobody else knows about it, not even Yelp! It's a lovely stretch of beach with pure white sand that I can only assume was imported... Located at the back of Sutton Village you have Ireland's Eye, Howth Head and Malahide on the horizon and a lovely mix of young, old, Irish and new Irish alike, not to mention some rather impressive eye candy (i.e. Tim sunning). Definitely my new fair weather spot!

Having grown up on this beach it holds a special place in my heart but I thinks it's one of the…read morenicest beaches in Dublin. Located on the Burrow Road it is known as either Burrow Beach or Hole in the wall beach as the access to the beach used to be through a large hole in a wall - you still need to climb over what's left of the wall but much easier now ! It's a lovely long flat beach and has great views out to Ireland's Eye. It's good for swimming but be careful as there can be strong currents. A great walk you can do is to get the DART to Sutton station which is very close to the beach and then walk along the beach up to Howth - then you could walk the pier and replenish your lost calories with some chips or just jump back on the DART. This however is only possible at low tide and you must be careful not to get trapped by the incoming tide

I love the walk along the cliff here especially on a quiet sunny day on the way to the beach. its…read morepeaceful and there is a great view of Howth head and Bull Island. The beach is not too sandy, has rather more stones than usual but is without any kind of commercial appendages unlike Bray for example. It has a few towers dotted here and there and there are some small private coves for the more adventurous. But have some care when climbing down as one slip and you're a goner! I was there yesterday and the sound of silence was wonderful. I met a few other people alone like myself and they seemed to have the same idea as me. At the end of the walk is the Waterside hotel that you could nip into for a coffee or glass of wine. I didn't as i don't wine alone but seemed nice and comfortable.

This is just such a gorgeous spot! On sunny days, it actually feels like somewhere far away from…read moreIreland. You could nearly be on the coast of France or Spain! It's a bit of a walk down but so worth it. Bring a little picnic and chiiiilllllll time. Now all we need is a little bitta sun...

Beautiful beach . . . a bit of a hike down all the millions of steps but always worthwhile.read more

Shelley Banks Beach is a relatively quiet beach near Sandymount. On the South side of Dublin, it…read moreoverlooks the twinkling lights and housetops of Dun Laoghaire. I came here on a beautiful summer's day when the Irish sun was in full force. When the weather is good, the beach is the perfect place to relax and get a tan. Another fun activity is beachcombing. There are beautiful seashells to collect. I even found a few crabs and oysters too. The place was virtually empty, save a wind surfer or two so privacy is not an issue here. The water is relatively clean as well. This beach was one of the very few ones that got a blue flag, meaning that the water quality is good and safe to swim in.