Portmarnock Velvet Strand

Portmarnock's Blue Flag beach is nicknamed The Velvet Strand due to the beautiful smooth sand along the beach. It is very popular with windsurfers and kitesurfers. It is a long sandy beach, approximately 5 kilometres in length, consisting of a large sandy dune area. There are public toilets located at the northern end of the beach. Portmarnock is a haven for beach goers during the summer months, offering facilities like hotels, restaurants, fast food outlets and golf courses. The town is served by the No. 32B and No. 42 bus service from Dublin City Centre. There is also a large public car-park at the beach. The beach is lifeguarded during the bathing season (lifeguard times are displayed on the information noticeboard at the beach).

Portmarnock's beach was the starting point for two important pioneering flights. On 23 June 1930 Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew took off in the Southern Cross (aircraft) on the second, westbound transatlantic flight (to Newfoundland, then they continued on to Oakland, California, completing a circumnavigation of the world. The first solo westbound transatlantic flight began from Portmarnock beach as on 18 August 1932 Jim Mollison, a British pilot, took a de Havilland Puss Moth from Portmarnock to Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick,Canada. (Ref: Shooting Suns and Things:transatlantic fliers at Portmarnock, Desmond Gallagher