Velvet Strand North Beach, Portmarnock
Portmarnock is named after Saint Marnock, a prominent missionary who founded a church in the area. The Velvet Strand is a long sandy beach, approximately 5 km in length, consisting of a large sandy dune area (see below). There are public toilets located at the northern end of the beach. Portmarnock is a haven for beach goers during the summer months, offering facilities like hotels, restaurants, fast food outlets and golf courses.
The town is served by the No. 32B and No. 42 bus service from Dublin City Centre, with a bus stop right at the beach! There is also a large public car-park at the beach.
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Bathing Water Quality
Velvet Strand North Beach in Portmarnock is one of the designated beaches under the Quality of Bathing Waters Regulations, 1992. Regular monitoring is carried out on the beach during the summer months as required by the Regulations.
You can download below the charts to view the Bathing Water Quality for Velvet Strand North Beach.
Lifeguard Information
All potential visitors to the beach are reminded of the dangers that exist along our coastline during the bathing season.
Velvet Strand North Beach in Portmarnock is guarded by Lifeguards during the bathing season. In 2009 it is guarded at weekends from the 30th of May to the 31st of August (11.00am to 7.00pm).
Weekday cover may be provided in August 2009, depending on weather and staffing considerations.
The presence of lifeguards on duty is indicated by the flying of the red/yellow flag.
The Sand Dunes
The sand dunes on Portmarnock beach are an important natural feature. Sand dunes are a sensitive habitat and depend on marram grass to stop the wind from blowing the sand away. The root system of the marram grass acts as a protective cover for the dunes. The dunes can be eroded by the action of the wind, tides and excessive trampling. You can help to prevent erosion of the dunes by walking and playing on the strand rather than the dunes.
Parts of the dune system are fenced off at times, which restricts access. Unfortunately, this is necessary to protect the dunes by planting marram grass and allowing it to become established without interference. Visitors are asked to be aware of the progress of tides in the vicinity of fenced off areas.
The Velvet Strand & Aviation History
It was from the Velvet Strand, on the 24th of June 1930 that the famous Australian aircraft, Southern Cross, departed on a pioneering Atlantic flight to Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, where it landed safely some 31.5 hours later. The plane was piloted by the legendary Charles Kingsford Smith and navigated by Dubliner, Captain J.P Saul, accompanied by crewmembers John Stannage and Evert Van Dyk. The sculpture 'Eccentric Orbit' commemorates the Southern Cross flight and can be seen in the grass area at the north of the strand. This piece, by Remco De Fouw (2002), consists of a limestone sphere showing a map of the world. The bronze needle at the top of the sphere points directly at the North Star, a point that has been used for navigating for thousands of years.
It was also from this beach, on the 18th of August 1932 that James Mollison made the first solo East-West flight accross the Atlantic in the De Havilland Puss Moth aircraft 'Heart's Content'.
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