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PORTMARNOCK

CO. DUBLIN · IE

Portmarnock
Port Mearnóg, Co. Dublin

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 02 / 08

Port Mearnóg · Co. Dublin

Two sides of water, one very good beach, and a transatlantic take-off point most people have never heard of.

Portmarnock is a peninsula north of Dublin city with sea on two sides and one very good reason to visit: the Velvet Strand. Five kilometres of Blue Flag beach, no amusement arcades, no fish-and-chip strip - just sand, sea and, on a clear day, views all the way to the Mourne Mountains.

The village itself is a quiet north Dublin suburb. The interest is coastal. Come in summer for the beach, come in winter for the walks when it's empty and dramatic, come any time if you're a links golfer - Portmarnock Golf Club is one of the serious ones, and the resort hotel on the peninsula is a proper destination.

Don't come expecting much in the way of restaurants or traditional village pub life - the suburb has absorbed the village. The beach is the thing. That's enough.

Population

~10,000

Walk score

Village to beach in 5 minutes

Founded

Golf club opened 26 December 1894

Coords

53.4203° N, 6.1461° W

01 / 06

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The Velvet Strand

5 km of Blue Flag sand.

The beach runs south from the village toward Baldoyle - five kilometres of wide, clean sand with the sea on two sides of the peninsula. Blue Flag since 2022. The name 'Velvet Strand' is not marketing. It's just accurate.

Walks & outings → 02 The flight

Transatlantic flights departed from this beach.

On 18 August 1932, Jim Mollison took off from Portmarnock beach and flew the first solo westbound transatlantic flight. Charles Kingsford Smith had left from the same strand in 1930. The beach that launched those flights now has a sculpture to prove it.

Stories & lore → 03 The golf

One links club, opened 1894. One resort hotel.

Portmarnock Golf Club opened on 26 December 1894 and has hosted the Irish Open multiple times. The Portmarnock Resort and Jameson Golf Links operates separately on the peninsula - connected to the Jameson whiskey family who moved here in 1847.

Stories & lore →

02 / 06

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

1930, 1932, 1933

The transatlantic flights

Between 1930 and 1933, three history-making transatlantic flights left from Portmarnock beach. In 1930, Charles Kingsford Smith completed the first east-to-west transatlantic crossing by a multi-engine aircraft in the Southern Cross. In 1932, Jim Mollison made the first solo westbound transatlantic flight from here, landing in New Brunswick, Canada. A third, Faith in Australia, was abandoned in 1933. A limestone, bronze and stainless steel sculpture - Eccentric Orbit, by Rachel Joynt and Remco de Fouw, erected 2002 - commemorates all three on the seafront.

Whiskey on a peninsula

The Jameson connection

John Jameson III - grandson of the founder of the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street - moved to the Portmarnock peninsula in 1847. The family association gave the resort golf course its name: the Jameson Links. The golf club itself has run separately since 1894, when a small group took a rowboat to the peninsula on St Stephen's Day to play the first round.

Hamund Mac Turcaill

The last Danish King of Dublin

Until the Anglo-Normans arrived in the late 12th century, the lands of Portmarnock were held by Hamund Mac Turcaill, last Norse King of Dublin. The Talbot family ousted him, built a motte-and-bailey at Wheatfield, and eventually moved north to construct Malahide Castle. The landscape of north Dublin's peninsula coast has been contested for a long time.

03 / 06

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Velvet Strand North from the village car park to the point, or south to Baldoyle. Flat, open beach walking. Pick up the Eccentric Orbit sculpture at the northern end and the Martello tower on the way.

5 km (one way)distance

Up to 2 hourstime

Peninsula loop Circuits the peninsula via the coast path and back through the village. Sea views on both sides on a clear day. Can get muddy near the estuary section.

6 kmdistance

1h 30mtime

04 / 06

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Beach mostly empty. Good bird-watching on the estuary. The golf course is at its best before summer pressure.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The beach fills up on weekends, especially July. Car parking gets difficult. Still, the water quality is good and the strand is long enough to find space.

◐ Mind yourself

Autumn

Sep-Oct

The local pick. Quieter, dramatic light on the water, decent weather odds into October.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

The beach in winter with a north wind is spectacular and entirely yours. Wrap up.

◉ Go

05 / 06

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Portmarnock Golf Club as a casual walk-in

It's a private members' club with a serious waiting list. The resort course is the public-access option.

Expecting a village pub crawl

This is a suburb with a beach, not a heritage village. The coast is the draw; the pub scene is residential and low-key.

Confusing this with Rush or Skerries

Those are further north and have more traditional village infrastructure. Portmarnock is beach and golf, very deliberately.

Getting there.

By car

From Dublin city, take the R107 coastal road north through Clontarf and Sutton. About 15 km from city centre. Parking at the beach on Strand Road.

By bus

Dublin Bus 32 from city centre to Portmarnock. Not the fastest option but it works. Journey about 45 minutes.

By train

No direct rail. The nearest DART stations are Portmarnock (1 km from the village) and Malahide. DART runs from Connolly Station and stops at Portmarnock - check the timetable, it's a suburban service.

By air

Dublin Airport is 12 km west. Most people coming from the airport hire a car or take a taxi rather than connecting via bus.