This time last year, I set off on a tour of the Irish coast for my book, At Swim: A Book about the Sea, which lists the best places to swim around the country, and explores Ireland’s sea swimming culture. I was joined by actor, comedian and fellow Dubliner Michael O’Reilly. We know our own city’s swim spots well. Dublin is surrounded by great places for a dip, from deep rocky dives by Georgian dwellings to further-flung cliffside beaches and pier walls. But we wanted get to know the rest of the Irish coast better, so put out a call to the country’s sea swimming community through radio and newspapers. Hundreds of local swimmers, expats and holidaymakers shared their favourite dips, and many had stories to tell, too. I contend that there are no “best” swimming spots. Each of the 50-odd swims in my book is somebody’s favourite – home of a childhood memory or a deep psychic connection. So instead I give you 10 “great’ Irish swims.
The Forty Foot, Glenageary, near Dublin
Dublin’s commuter trains run south to this famous swimming spot, below a Martello tower in which the opening chapter of Ulysses is set. Joyce himself lived here for just under a week before setting sail for the continent. This rocky outcrop sees hundreds of visitors daily, in good weather and bad, and thousands of swimmers on Christmas Day. If the going is rough, it’s only a 20-metre walk to the more protected Sandycove beach. No excuses.
• Head down Marine Parade to Sandycove Avenue and James Joyce Tower. Map
Solomon’s Hole, Hook Head, County Wexford
The sunny south-east has a near mythic micro-climate: I can remember the distinct smell of porridge and jam wafting through our car window as we drove by strawberry farms. The peninsula of Hook Head fingers out into the sea. At the tip is 2km of black, rocky coast great for walking, coasteering or swimming (in places). The best of the geological features is Solomon’s Hole. Walking south from Slade harbour, keep your eyes peeled for a bridge of rock that overhangs a fairy pool. A deep crack in the coast, wide enough for two swimmers abreast, allows the pool to fill at higher tides for high jumps and sea lounging.
• Turn left at the mini-roundabout in Slade towards the harbour, and from there it’s a 300-metre walk south. Map
Derrynane, County Kerry
I regularly break my rule about “bests” for Derrynane, whose white-sand beaches in a natural bay enjoy further protection from black sandstone rock that heats in the sun and warms the calm, shallow waters. The western beach, with a tiny jetty from which children and toddlers leap, is completely protected – and was once a smuggler’s cove. A tiny peninsula divides it from the eastern beach, which houses an ancient abbey and graveyard, and did I mention there’s a pub? It’s known as Bridie’s.
• Turn off the N70 at Derrynane Beg or Caherdaniel and follow the winding road toward the sea. Map
The Pollock Holes, County Clare
These three natural swimming pools emerge from a rocky reef as the tide recedes. Bring a pair of goggles or a snorkel to explore the rich sea life in these deep pools that warm to up to 20C in summer – but be sure to arrive two hours either side of low tide. This was the childhood playground of actor Richard Harris, where he performed death-defying handstands and cycling tricks on the cliffside walls when not showboating by the sea.
• Follow the coast road west from Kilkee, heading for the Diamond Rock Cafe. Map
Kerin’s Hole, County Clare
We had more emails about this swimming spot than any other. In particular, the residents of Miltown Malbay, a few miles inland, were keen to show us their childhood favourite. But decades of the raging Atlantic seas had washed away safe access to the natural pool at the base of the cliff. A handful of locals decided something must be done, and by July 2014 had raised money for a large engineering project. The new cliff access opened last summer. This is a local swimming spot with a warm welcome for visitors and also a traditional music session in the town every night of the week.
• Turn off the N67 at Fintra More for White Strand. Kerin’s Hole is reached along the cliff walk on the right side of the beach. Map
Salthill, Galway City
This seaside suburb has a holiday atmosphere thanks to the arcades and promenade that lead towards Blackrock, where a diving platform stretches out into the Atlantic. Designed by a local engineer, it was built by a local company, blessed by the local priest and opened in 1954 – to men only. The forthright Bishop Michael Browne of Galway was known to patrol the area, making sure men and women swam separately. Women didn’t join the men for a swim at Blackrock, or in many other parts of Ireland, until the 1970s. On the day we arrived, Mike Doyle, a Galway native, was executing fabulous dives from the top platform. His seven-year-old daughter was jumping from the top for the first time, too.
• From Galway City, head west along the R336 and you won’t miss it. Map
The Cove, Clare Island, County Mayo
On our short ferry journey from Roonah Point on the mainland to this small inhabited island, we were joined by a pod of dolphins. The last leg of the journey is an unmarked track through boggy, picturesque landscape. But the deep, crystal blue waters made it well worth the journey. You’re likely to be the only soul swimming in this tiny cove, with staggering views back towards islet-pocked Clew Bay.
• From the harbour, take the road north towards the lighthouse. At Ballytoohy More, turn right and head north-east on the muddy track. Map
Belmullet tidal pool, County Mayo
“We started swimming there in the mid-1960s,” wrote Eva Reilly. “The parish priest, Archdeacon Feeney, complained about us from the altar, but we were brazen and chose to ignore him. He was in his 70s then and used to swim there himself. We made life difficult for him.” Eva became the area’s first water safety officer in the 1980s. The town wanted an indoor pool, but the council coffers were empty. Instead, inspired by one local’s holiday to Sweden, an outdoor tidal pool was built: it’s an uncanny, modernist concrete block that sticks out from the coastline like a tongue.
• Take the R313 into Belmullet, turn left into Main Street and left again along Shore Road, watching for the gap in the wall that gives access to the pool. Map
Rougey Rocks, County Donegal
Just north of Bundoran is a cliff walk to a pair of sea stacks. They lean out over a narrow, deep inlet, making perfect diving platforms. Generations of teenagers have gathered here in summer to test their nerve by jumping from ever-higher ledges. It’s also got one of the last remaining springboards in Ireland, most were pulled up by councils frightened of litigation. But here, the board appears to be safer than the sea stacks.
• From the beach car park in Bundoran, walk north on to Rougey Walk, then take the steps towards the sea stacks. Map
Fort Dunree, County Donegal
The last place on our coastal odyssey is known more for its history than its swimming heritage. A small pier sits directly below an 18th-century fort in Lough Swilly. It’s where the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell fled in 1607, where the French fleet carrying the revolutionary Wolfe Tone was intercepted and defeated by the British in 1798, and was the largest home of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet in the first world war. But its swimming value is beyond doubt too. The pier is plenty deep for diving, with access to a narrow gully beneath the drawbridge and a pristine, horse-shoe beach on the opposite side of the fort.
• Head north from Buncrana on the R238. Turn left for Glebe and continue to Dunree. Map
At Swim: a Book About the Sea, by Brendan Mac Evilly with Michael O’Reilly, is published by Collins Press, price £17.99. To buy a copy for £14.39, including UK p&p, go to bookshop.theguardian.com
