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DUBLIN • IDENTIFIED BEACH

Sandycove Beach

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

Good
SWIMMING STATUS TODAY

No active EPA restriction shown

EPA alert data last synced 19 Oct 2026, 13:50.

NO ACTIVE ALERT SHOWN
Can I swim here?No active EPA restriction shownCurrent EPA alert/restriction status
Current restrictionNone shown in current EPA alertsThis is not a guarantee of swimming conditions. Always check local signs, lifeguard instructions and the latest official advice at the beach.
Latest sampleExcellentIndividual sample result only
Last tested14 Sep 2026Latest sample stored from EPA

Current restrictions and beach signage take priority over annual classifications and individual sample results. Conditions can change between samples.

Annual EPA classification · 2025GoodLonger-term annual classification
Latest available sampleExcellent14 Sep 2026
E. coli10Latest sample result
Intestinal enterococci1Latest sample result
Next monitoring—EPA schedule where available
Short-term pollution riskYesEPA location profile field

EPA annual assessment

Sandycove Beach is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Sandycove Beach achieved a Good Water Quality rating for the four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. 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.

Annual water quality history

2025Good
2024Good
2023Good
2022Good

Recent water samples

DateSample statusE. coliIntestinal enterococci
14 Sep 2026Excellent101
7 Sep 2026Excellent101
31 Aug 2026Excellent306
24 Aug 2026Excellent<103
17 Aug 2026Excellent207
10 Aug 2026Excellent3110
4 Aug 2026Excellent1346
27 Jul 2026Excellent203
20 Jul 2026Excellent<10<1
13 Jul 2026Excellent3110
6 Jul 2026Excellent<10<1
29 Jun 2026Excellent2032

Facilities & access

Blue FlagNo
Green CoastNo
LifeguardYes
First aidYes
LifebuoyYes
ToiletsYes
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Beach wheelchairNo
Public transportNo
Information boardYes
Litter binYes
RecyclingNo
Natural sensitive areaYes

About this bathing water

Sandycove beach is a tiny beach which offers shallow water to paddle and lovely views to admire. This seaside suburb is located around a pleasant harbour and has a famous Martello Tower where the writer James Joyce once stayed for a week as a guest of poet Oliver St. John Gogarty. It is also home to the traditional Irish bathing place, the Forty Foot, where brave bathers swim all year round.

Official information

Managed by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Open EPA beach profile