Birding Shelley Banks

Shelly Banks is a quiet beach in Ringsend, not all that far from the city centre. It is a sandy beach with dunes and amazing views across Dublin Bay to Sandymount, Blackrock and Dunlaoghaire Harbour. At full tide, the water reaches almost to the dunes. At low tide it retreats for hundreds of metres away from the shore. The best time to visit is when the tide is coming in as it drives wading birds and gulls closer to the beach. As a natural tidal habitat, it attracts Gulls and Waders that feed along the shore. The beach is located right beside Irishtown Nature Park.

If you drive along the road at the back of the beach until it takes a sharp turn to the left, you will come to a carpark.

Parking Sat-Nav co-ordinates: 53.338692, -6.182617

From here you can also visit the Great South Wall which is a short walk from the car park! The “wall”, which is a long pier, is 2 kilometres long, so this is a four kilometre walk. You will see a good variety of birds including gulls, divers and terns (in summer). It is a popular walk with Dubliners.