Donabate: Coast, Nature and History

Donabate combines a long sandy beach with coastal paths and the historic Newbridge Demesne estate. You can shape your stay around scenery, wildlife and Irish history—from a walk along the coast to a visit to an estate with a house, farm and garden.

Newbridge Demesne: House, Farm and Garden

Newbridge Demesne is the only surviving, intact 18th-century demesne landscape in County Dublin. The present-day Newbridge House was completed in 1752; its interiors are among the best preserved in Ireland. The estate also includes a working 18th-century farm, home to Shetland and Connemara ponies, piglets, goats and chicks. Newbridge Traditional Farm showcases traditional breeds and machinery from earlier centuries of Irish farming—a distinct perspective on the history of rural life.

The demesne covers around 370 acres of pastureland, as well as woodland paths and a wildlife park. The Walled Garden at Newbridge House and Farm features extensive orchards and a collection of old Irish apple varieties. A modern adventure playground adds to the estate. This gives families different options for their visit: animals and historic farming, paths around the grounds, or time in the garden and playground. Newbridge House and Farm is within comfortable walking distance of Donabate village centre.

Balcarrick Beach and the Coast

Balcarrick Beach is 3.4 km long, with sandy dunes and rock pools. The main access point is at the northern end of the beach, near the Waterside Hotel. It is a 20-minute walk from Donabate village centre to the beach. This gives you a concrete reference point when considering whether you would prefer to find a holiday rental in the village centre and walk to the beach.

The dunes are fragile: visitors are asked not to walk or play on them or on the surrounding grass. The coast offers more than sand: the rock pools create a different landscape from the dunes and open beach.

Walking between Donabate and Portrane

The coastal path to Portrane runs eastwards from the railway line at the Broadmeadow Estuary. Its route is shown on information boards at Tower Bay Car Park and Beach Car Park in Donabate. Along the way, you reach a Martello tower in Donabate, next to the Waterside Hotel; the path also passes north of Balcarrick Golf Course. The route can include a loop around the Island Golf Club. This lets you factor coastal stretches and notable points along the path into your day’s plans, without making a beach visit the sole focus.

Churches and Historic Traces

Donabate has two churches with different histories. St Patrick’s Church of Ireland dates from 1758 and stands on the site of Donabate’s medieval parish church. The Catholic Church of St Patrick is a Gothic church built in 1903 from red brick from Portmarnock. Its features include an ornate rose window and a Carrara marble high altar. Its two-light stained-glass window, “Suffer little Children,” was designed by Harry Clarke in 1925 and made by artists from his studio under his direction.

Lanis­town Castle also adds to the picture of the past: it dates from the mid-15th century and is one of three surviving tower houses on the peninsula. If you are interested in architecture and historic buildings as well as beaches and nature, Donabate offers several different points of interest.

Donabate as a Base

Visitors to Newbridge House and Farm can take northbound trains from Connolly or Pearse Street to Donabate station. Nearby, you’ll also find Turvey Nature Reserve on the Rogerstown Estuary. The area includes allotments, paths, hedgerows, hay meadows and Fingal Forest. When choosing your accommodation, you can weigh up whether your trip is focused mainly on the village centre and beach, Newbridge estate, or nature in the surrounding area.

More places at a glance: Balbriggan, Lusk, Santry, Ballyboughal, Gormanston, Blanchardstown, Swords, Garristown.

For the county-wide travel guide: County Fingal.