Overview
There are two beaches at Portrane, and which one you want depends on why you came. The Brook Beach is the long sandy strand, about 2 km, running from Portrane village north towards Rogerstown Estuary. Its main entrance is near the Brook Inn. Farther south, Tower Bay is a small, stony cove under the Martello tower.
This is north County Dublin, a short hop off the M1, and it has a village feel rather than the bustle of the big southside strands. The beach faces east over the Irish Sea, so it is a good place for a sunrise walk, with broad sky and the coast curving away towards Rogerstown Estuary.
Which beach, and swimming
Fingal County Council identifies the Brook as Portrane’s designated bathing beach and lists public parking, toilets and seasonal lifeguards. Check the council’s water quality and lifeguard notices before getting in, and follow the flags and signs at the beach.
Tower Bay is stonier and best enjoyed as a place to look at the tower and the sea. Take care near the water there, and as anywhere on this coast, jellyfish can turn up through the summer. Check a tide table before any long shore walk, because the Irish Sea covers a lot of sand at high water.
The Martello tower and Father Ted
The tower above Tower Bay was built in 1804 as one of a chain raised against a feared Napoleonic invasion. It’s a fine silhouette and the turning point of the coastal walk, but it is a private home now, so admire it from outside. There’s no going in.
The dunes near Tower Bay also stood in for the field in the famous funfair episode of Father Ted, which still pulls the odd fan out for a photo.
The cliff walk
The council maps the Donabate to Portrane coastal walk, which follows the cliffs between the two villages towards the Martello tower, with Lambay Island and the open Irish Sea in view. Check signs at the entrances, stay on the path and keep back from cliff edges.
Wildlife
The Rogerstown Estuary Special Area of Conservation lies at the northern end of the beach and includes dunes, tidal flats and saltmarsh. The exposed flats fill with wintering waders and wildfowl, brent geese among them. In summer the shingle is working ground for nesting little terns, protected by the local Portrane Little Tern Project. Give feeding and nesting birds room and keep off fenced areas and the dunes.
A disappearing coast
Portrane is a visibly eroding stretch of the Dublin coast, and the soft cliffs have lost ground to the sea over the years. Concrete units known as ‘sea bees’ have been laid below the cliffs to slow it. It makes for a genuinely changing shoreline, and a good reason to heed any fencing or closure signs.
Practical Information
- Parking: Fingal County Council lists public parking at the Brook Beach.
- Toilets: The council lists toilets at the Brook Beach.
- Admission: Free.
- Getting there: From the M1, take the Donabate/Portrane exit and follow the signs through Donabate into Portrane. Use the TFI journey planner for buses to Portrane, or check the walking route from Donabate station.
- Accessibility: The sand is soft, so check the entrance you plan to use before you go.
Nearby
- Newbridge House and Gardens – a 1747 Georgian house and demesne a short drive inland.
- Ardgillan Castle – an 18th-century country house with gardens and sea views to the north.
- Swords – the Fingal county town, with its medieval castle and plenty of places to eat.
The beach faces east over the Irish Sea, so bring a flask for the sunrise.