Blue Flag Beach Award at Seapoint Beach and Killiney Beach 2025
The Blue Flag season for beaches in Ireland coincides with the bathing season which runs from 1st June to 15th September. Blue Flag sites are only awarded for one season at a time.
In 2025, DLR received Blue Flags awards at Seapoint Beach and at Killiney Beach.
The Blue Flag season lasts one year and so applications are done on an annual basis. The Cleansing, Beaches and Coastal Protection Section of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is responsible for the Blue Flag application, acquiring and retaining the Blue Flag for suitable bathing areas within the county.
The Blue Flag is awarded by An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland operates the programme on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) click here in Ireland. The programme is funded by the Department of the Housing, Planning & Local Government.
The Blue Flag Environmental Education Activities for Seapoint and Killiney for 2025
Leave only Paw Prints (Killiney and Seapoint)
Dun Laoghaire County Council supports the work of the Acclimatize programme. There are 9 Identified and Monitored bathing areas within the county. During bathing season weekly samples are taken and sent to be analysed for E.Coli and Intestinal Enterococci. Results can be found on our Bathing Water page, on our Social Media outlets and on Beaches.ie. These two bacteria's are introduced into our waters through fecal matter. This can come from a number of sources including sewage and animal fouling. This programme has suggested that one dog poo can contaminate an area of water the same size as a tennis court and 0.5m depth.
Click here for more information on the Acclimatize Leave only Paw Prints.
2 Minute Beach Clean (Killiney and Seapoint)
As part of the Blue Flag season, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council proudly promotes the Clean Coast 2-minute Beach Clean initiative. Find the 2-minute beach clean boards at both Seapoint and Killiney beaches while the Lifeguards are on Duty. Feel free to borrow a litter picker, take a bag and collect some litter during your visit. Snap a picture and use the #2MinuteBeachClean on Instagram to share your work. For more information, please visit the Clean Coasts website.
Think Before you Flush (Killiney and Seapoint)
To protect our marine environment only the 3 P’s (pee, poo and paper) can be flushed down the toilet. Everything else should go in the bin. See the Dirty Dozen for commonly-flushed items that shouldn't be. This campaign is operated by Clean Coasts (An Taisce) in partnership with Uisce Éireann.
Information posters can be found in the public toilets at each beach. For further information please visit the Think Before You Flush website.
Seal Rescue Ireland (Seapoint and Killiney)
Our beaches can be great places to spot wildlife, with seals being frequently spotted by beachgoers. Two types of seal can be spotted the Grey Seal and the Common Seal. If you see a seal on our beaches keep a 100m distance and never approach them. Do not attempt to touch the seal or put it in the water if it is on land. Dogs must be kept on a leash close to these animals as they could cause injury. Information signs have been installed on both Seapoint and Killiney Beach to provide more information or download a copy at the bottom of this page. Information provided courtesy of Seal Rescue Ireland.
Killiney Beach Smart Pebbles Project (Killiney Beach only)
The Cleansing, Beaches and Coastal Protection has been working with UCD as part of the Score project, installing smart pebbles on Killiney beach with the help of Dalkey Tidy Towns.
The SCORE (Smart Control of the Climate Resilience in European Coastal Cities) project, funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, aims to develop and implement innovative adaptation measures to protect coastal and low-lying areas from climate risks like sea level rise, flooding, and erosion. The project integrates ecosystem-based approaches (EBAs) with smart technologies, such as low-cost sensors and digital twin technology, across ten Coastal City Living Labs (CCLLs) in Europe.
Litter Demonstration Box (Seapoint only)
The Beaches Team in DLRCC, collected items that have been left on the beaches across the County in spring 2025. These items are on show in a Perspex box located at Sepoint Beach. Information is on display that shows how long these items take to decompose when left on our beaches. This project emphasizes the importance of disposing of rubbish responsibly, including using the bins provided, carrying out litter picks on our beaches and bringing rubbish home. Disposing of rubbish correctly eliminates harmful effects to fish, birds and wildlife that live on beaches.
stakeholders and enhance urban climate resilience. This short You Tube video concisely explains the project on Killiney beach, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn34HiyhDWg.
DLR have participated in community pebble installation and collection days to gather information on the movement of material on our coastline.
Visit Killiney beach to view the photo boards and participate in the project as a Citizen Scientist.
For more information visit https://score-eu-project.eu/
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