From the windswept beaches of Omey Island in Connemara to building sandcastles on Inishbofin and a summer’s evening in Barleycove, Cork, we asked for your Favourite Irish Beach Destinations – The Answers Did Not Disappoint …
OMEY ISLAND, CONNEMARA
Rebecca Guinness, Director, Elfie London. Given that I’ve spent a good portion of my life enjoying sand-filled sandwiches on windswept Atlantic beaches, it might surprise some that my Bucket List beach experience is located just a little further south of my usual stomping ground of NW Donegal. The area is most famous for its eponymous ponies but Connemara’s equestrian spirit is evident too just north of Clifden, where a beautiful tidal strand links Omey Island to the Galway coast. The beach hosts annual pony races in July and my idea of heaven is a blue-skied day there with my children (decked out in Elfie clothes of course!), a picnic, a bit of a flutter on the ponies, followed by seafood and a pint at Cleggan mainstay Oliver’s! @radioguinness
DINGLE PENINSULA, KERRY
Edelle Kenny, Film director and photographer. We’re spoiled for choice in Ireland with beaches – not only by their variety but also their beauty. They are a medicine for the madness of everyday life. Having just moved back to Ireland after a decade, I rarely want much more from a holiday than a piece of home. I have a Bird’s Nest cabin on the Dingle Peninsula in mind for my Bucket List retreat. It’s simple but has a private beach, a kayak and a bedroom that hovers above the Atlantic. I will go there and read that book I’ve been putting off finishing, while letting the sound of my racing thoughts be absorbed by the waves. @edelle_kenny
THE BLASKET ISLANDS, CO KERRY
Frances Fogarty, Founder, circular fashion brand Lily Mais. Top of everyone’s Bucket List should be a boat trip to the Blasket Islands off the coast of West Kerry. I am biased: My husband Feargal’s people came from the Great Blasket in the late 1800s. The rawness of the landscape continues to inspire artists of every genre to this day. The Island offers so many emotions to visitors – I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t been touched in some way by the energy of the place. Both the beauty and the rugged wilderness inspire the designs of Lily Mais, from swim ponchos and hoodies, to beach dresses and bucket hats. Even on days when I can’t go to sea, I have the perfect view from my studio in West Kerry of Inis Tuaisceart, the most northerly of the Blasket Islands. @lilymais.dingle
BARLEYCOVE, CO CORK
Aishling Moore, Chef, Goldie, Cork City. As this is a Bucket List, I’ll shoot for the stars. I dream of a summer’s evening on Barley Cove beach (or pretty much any of the gorgeous beaches we have around the coast of Cork), cooking a very large paella over a wood fire with my Goldie colleagues on a night off. Bomba rice in a saffron-scented stock rich with the flavours of alliums and fi h bones, bejewelled with plump mussels, fillets of red mullet, chunks of ling and maybe some turbot if we are lucky enough to get it. I’d serve it simply with a green salad and garlicky aioli, and some perfectly chilled sparkling wine. @goldierestaurant
INISHBOFIN, CO GALWAY
Chupi Sweetman, founder and CEO, Chupi. When I was little, we spent our summer holidays on Inishbofin Island. The long drive west, followed by the excitement of a ferry ride from Cleggan pier to the island, left a lasting imprint. This summer I want to start our own tradition and take my darling girl on that same adventure, setting sail from Cleggan, disembarking at Bofin pier. Building sandcastles on East beach, drinking wine that’s a little too warm, swimming in the sea that’s a little too cold. I can’t imagine a better day – a part of my heart will always be West. @chupisweetman
BENONE BEACH, CO DERRY
Becky Cole, Wild gardener and author. Living quite close to the beach I am lucky to enjoy regular sunrise walks along the breathtaking Northern Irish coast. However, I do have a slightly embarrassing confession to make: I cannot swim! So, on my Bucket List is learning to swim and taking crystal-clear cool sea dips at Benone beach with some friends. At the moment, I’m relegated to the rock pools of Portstewart, which seems to be the place children learn to swim. However, I hope one day to make it to the wide, uncurtailed sea and finally lift my feet off the ground. @beckyocole
BALLYMONEY BEACH, CO WEXFORD
Emma Kelly, Founder, Elevate PR. I have always loved the sea and particularly the Irish coastline, so much so that some wakeful nights, I fall back asleep by mentally going around Ireland, county by county, to my favourite beaches! My favourites are Ballymoney in Wexford, Barley Cove in Cork and Portacloy in Mayo and I intend to get to all three this summer. I am not a big sun-worshipper so you will find me in my dreams wrapped up under an umbrella at my favourite beaches in Florida, Cape Cod and Tarifa in southwestern Spain, eating fresh shellfish. The reality, this year however, will most likely be in Ireland, and eating Tayto. @emmaelevate
SHANKHILL, DUBLIN
Orla Kiely, Designer. Living in a big city like London, I find I yearn for the coast more and more. My childhood was idyllic, growing up in South County Dublin with Shankhill beach in front and the mountains behind. That landscape is my comfort zone, where I can relax and blow the cobwebs away. My favourite thing when I’m in Ireland is going to our local beach early enough to see the sunrise: daylight appearing slowly, the deep blue colour of the sky lightening, cormorants sitting in the rocks, watching the world in all its beauty. I always enjoy a long brisk walk along the shoreline when the tide is out, breathing in the fresh sea air, stopping for a rest and a cup of coffee, listening to the sounds of crashing waves and gulls. I take equal pleasure and inspiration from a sunset but need to travel west for that. @orlakiely
MOUNT VERNON, CO CLARE
Ruth Griffin, Fashion historian. On my Bucket List is a visit to Mount Vernon, Co Clare. It’s a holiday home like no other, a charming Georgian villa built in 1788, which later became Lady Augusta Gregory’s very own bolthole. The whitewashed house has striking red-painted bay windows and a terrace which overlooks a wildflower meadow and a glimmering blue view of the Flaggy Shore and Galway Bay. Here, myself and my husband Donal, and a dinner party guest or two, would sit with cocktails in hand and watch the light move over the sea until the sun goes down. Until that happens, you’ll find me in an equally dreamy setting building sandcastles with my two-year-old Billy on Lissadell beach in Co Sligo. @ruth_griffin_fashhistorian
THE BLASKET ISLANDS, CO KERRY
Hannah ní Mhaonaigh, Artist. This summer I would love to go to Trá Ban or White Beach on the Great Blasket Island. You can only get there by boat and in good weather you might catch a glimpse of dolphins, whales, seals and basking sharks. July is said to be the best time to go as you see puffins and other beautiful birds against the backdrop of a breathtaking landscape. I’d swim in the crystal water and visit the stone ruins, which are all that remains of a community evacuated in 1953. I’d bring a picnic to share with loved ones after swimming, relaxing and exploring. This is just one of my many Bucket List spots in Ireland; we have endless sources of ancient beauty, inspiration and adventure right on our doorstep. @hannah_ni_mhaonaigh