Sandycove Beach

Sunny days

Sandycove beach is a small beach close to the James Joyce Tower and Museum. It is also home to a traditional Irish bathing place, the Forty Foot, where, if you are brave enough, you can swim all year round.

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.

The opening scene of Joyce's Ulysses is set in this tower. It now hosts a small Joycean museum, open in summer time. Bloomsday is celebrated in Sandycove in Joyce's honour on the 16th of June every year. It is also the birthplace of Irish patriot Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916).

Sandycove beach itself is very popular with young families, as it offers shallow water to paddle and gorgeous views. At the back you can find the famous Forty Foot where, if you are brave and tough enough, you can have a dip all year round.