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County Dublin

Sandymount Strand

Sandymount Strand is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Dublin, 3.2 km north-west of Blackrock. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it sufficient for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy and an information board.

Sufficient
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
3.2 km
from Blackrock
Water quality
Sufficient, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Poor, 2023 Poor, 2022 Sufficient
Water testing
Tested by the EPA sampled through the season and given a water quality grade
Season restriction
None in place
Pollution after rain
Prone to short term pollution
Awards
None
County
County Dublin
Managed by
Dublin City Council
Nearest town
Blackrock, 3.2 km north-west of it, in a straight line
From that town
3.5 km by road, about 6 min drivingor 3.7 km on foot, about 46 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
YES
Parking
YES
Access
YES
Dogs
YES
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
Bus/DART
Protected area
YES
Position
53.3253° N, 6.2065° W
Record changed
2026-04-08
Sandymount Strand (bathing place Sandymount Strand is located on the Irish coast in the municipality/city Dublin City Council)
Sandymount Strand (bathing place Sandymount Strand is located on the Irish coast in the municipality/city Dublin City Council)·Josi, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sandymount Strand (bathing place Sandymount Strand is located on the Irish coast in the municipality/city Dublin City Council)·Josi, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Park at Sandymount
Park at Sandymount·Darrin Antrobus, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Park at Sandymount·Darrin Antrobus, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Sandymount Strand is 2 km a sandy beach with a gradual slope, which makes the water too shallow for any real swimming. There is a large inlet of water that remains even at low tide and is known locally as "Cockle Lake". Although Sandymount Strand itself has little flora or fauna due to its positioning and coastal connection to Sean Moore Park and the lrishtown nature Reserve it is a nationally important area for migrating birds.

Sandymount Strand is classified as achieving Sufficient Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Sandymount Strand was classified as having Poor Water Quality rating in 2024 and 2023 and Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2022. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.

The EPA’s own beach profile

Where it is

Sandymount Strand, and the other places to swim in County Dublin. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Sandymount Strand

Your journey, your way

Let’s get you to Sandymount Strand.

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About these directions

Public transport times come from National Transport Authority. Timetables cover 2026-09-18 to 2027-09-19. These are scheduled services; check with the operator for cancellations and changes before travelling.

Walking and driving times are estimates. A town search starts at its centre; choose your location or a point on the map for a more precise starting point. Eircode search is not available.

How journey planning works
Destination, access and nearby stops

Sandymount Strand is in Blackrock, County Dublin. Routes here end at the point the map records for this place. The entrance has not been verified, so the last few metres are for you to judge.

The nearest settlement is Blackrock, 3.2 km north-west of the beach. The register records parking here. Getting to the town is not getting to the beach, so the journey below is worked out to the beach itself and the last stretch on foot is measured rather than left out.
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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is St John's Church (381), 400 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • St John's Church 400 m
    buses C1, C2 and 47
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Park Avenue 580 m
    buses C2, C1, 47 and 84n
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Sydney Parade 590 m
    trains DART and rail among others
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Ailesbury Road 670 m
    buses 47 and 84n
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Gilford Road 680 m
    buses C2, C1, 47 and 84n
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Blackrock covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Dublin

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Sandymount Strand?
The EPA classified it Sufficient for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Sandymount Strand is classified as achieving Sufficient Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Sandymount Strand was classified as having Poor Water Quality rating in 2024 and 2023 and Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2022. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health. A classification is a record of seasons that have finished; it is not a reading of the water today.
Is swimming restricted at Sandymount Strand?
The register records no season-long restriction. That is about the season, not about today: a short notice after heavy rain would not appear here, and this water is recorded as prone to short term pollution. Check with Dublin City Council before swimming.
Does Sandymount Strand have a Blue Flag?
No. A beach without one can still have excellent water: the Blue Flag also asks for facilities, lifeguards and information boards, which a quiet strand may not have.
Is there a lifeguard at Sandymount Strand?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Sandymount Strand without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is St John's Church, 400 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses C1, C2 and 47 call there, run by Bus Átha Cliath – Dublin Bus. The planner on this page works out the walk from that stop over real footways, and the whole journey from wherever you are starting, for the day and time you pick. Where no footway joins the stop to the beach it says so rather than making a number up.
Where does this come from?
The Environmental Protection Agency's list of places people swim, which it calls the bathing water register, read on 2026-09-20, where this record was last changed on 2026-04-08. Water quality, awards, lifeguards and facilities are the EPA's own fields, and a field it leaves blank is shown as not recorded rather than as a no. The distance to the nearest town is this site's own measurement, in a straight line.

Water quality, awards, lifeguards, toilets, parking and access are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own fields, from its bathing water register, read 2026-09-20. The classification covers four years of sampling and is not a reading for today: after heavy rain the water can be worse than the classification suggests, and the EPA and the local authority post notices when it is. Positions are the EPA’s grid references, projected to latitude and longitude. Journeys are the National Transport Authority’s published timetable.

Beaches and bathing waters in Ireland·Beaches in County Dublin