Lahinch Beach

Lahinch is a sandy, crescent-shaped beach, by the resort town of Lahinch in Liscannor Bay on the north west coast of County Clare. The beach directly faces the Atlantic Ocean, meaning it gets the full force of the swells. As a result Lahinch is one of Ireland’s most popular surfing beaches.

The beach itself is over one mile long, stretching from Lahinch resort town to the mouth of the Inagh River. At low tide it is wide and vast, but as the tide rushes in almost all of the sand is submerged.  Lahinch is not always an ideal beach for swimming as the currents can be strong, but there is a lifeguard service during the summer months, and zoning of the beach helps with some safety issues.

Not far from the beach, the incredible naturally formed limestone “pavement” known as The Burren stretches over a vast area.  The Burren is home to many interesting plant species as well as wildlife.

There is a large car park directly above the beach, including plenty of disabled spaces. The beach is accessed via a slipway. There are also toilets, a surfing equipment rental and surf school and an indoor swimming pool at Lahinch SeaWorld Leisure Centre.

In the town there are more surfing rental shops and surfing schools as well as pubs and restaurants. The beach backs on to Lahinch Golf Club, a 36 hole club founded in 1892. In 2016, Golf Digest ranked the club as the 65th greatest in the world.