PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINKS for Dublin need to be improved in order to ease the pressure on popular seaside spots like Burrow Beach on sunny weekend days. 

That’s according to the Green Party’s Transport spokesperson Feljin Jose. 

Burrow Beach, beside Sutton station on the DART line to Howth, was inundated with sunseekers at the weekend as people headed to the shoreline to cool down amid soaring temperatures. 

The beach is known for its tendency to attract large numbers of people during fine weather, and Fingal County Council had put in place a number of measures to counteract any potential negative side effects.

A Garda Public Order unit was also in place over the weekend and a spokesperson said  gardaí had a proactive policing plan in place. 

By Saturday evening, gardaí were redirecting traffic in the area in a bid to cut down on numbers. Irish Rail were also advising passengers against accessing the beach.

Jose – a Dublin City councillor and former head of campaign group the Dublin Commuter Coalition – said that there needs to be more focus on local links to other beaches on both the north and south side of the county. 

Burrow Beach is easily accessible by DART – but anyone planning on heading to nearby beaches in Portmornack or Dollymount would face a long walk, “and I think that’s why a lot of people shot to Burrow Beach”. 

Although there were some additional services put in place over the weekend, Jose said: “That’s just serving the couple of beaches that are nearby train stations.

“I think we could do a lot more from Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to make the likes of Dollymount even more accessible. It’s a long walk from the nearest bus stop to Dollymount Strand, for example, and a lot of the other northside beaches.

The improved transport links would need to be publicised too, “to try and take that pressure off the one or two beaches that are right beside train stations which people are inevitably inclined to go to”.

Burrow wasn’t the only beach overrun with visitors, but its proximity to the DART station may have been the main reason behind its popularity over the week.

Iarnród Éireann said that over Saturday and Sunday, it operated 22 extra DARTs in addition to scheduled services to cater for customers travelling to and from Howth.

Some southside DART transport was also disrupted due to scheduled engineering works between Dún Laoghaire and Bray, Jose added. Stations at Sandycove and Glasthule, Glenageary, Dalkey, Killiney, and Shankill were all closed for train services on Saturday. All are close to popular beaches or swimming spots like the Vico Baths.  

The National Transport Authority should have a plan in place to service the demand to visit certain areas during hot weather, Jose said.

“I think we just have to accept there’s just not enough space at these beaches for everyone to go there at the same time in a car.

“But at the same time, we need to improve public transport capacity to match the demand as well, and the NTA needs step into that – it happens every year, without fail.”

Gardaí said of their operation at Burrow Beach: “There were no incidents of a serious nature reported, and Gardaí noted that while extremely busy, those at the beach were generally well behaved individuals. There were no arrests.”