If all goes as expected, the first beach officially permitting nude sunbathing – starting this month at Hawk Cliff in Dalkey, south of Dublin will be the start of a “nudist revolution” in Ireland.
That is, for those brave enough to bare it all in the tough Irish weather.
The decision is considered groundbreaking for the predominantly Catholic and socially conservative country that unlike most other West European nations, hasn’t had “official” nudist beaches until now. It comes after last year saw the passing of new national legislation regarding public nudity.
Legal action, according to the recent law, will apply only if a person is deemed to be “intending to cause fear, distress or alarm,” or engaging in sexual activity.
Local authorities have started the nudist beach makeover with public notices to be placed around the surrounding area warning other bathers of the likelihood of catching a glimpse of beachgoers in the buff.
“Every other country in Europe has these kinds of signs” and they will simply say “nude bathers may be seen beyond this point,” the Irish Naturist Association (INA) told the Irish Sun.
“Ireland, the land of rain, pubs and Guinness, has ventured into European territory and is set to open its first nudist beach this month,” wrote the Express. ”Love them or loathe them, nudist beaches make certainly a mark in the U.K. coastline, going against the usual British notion of modesty and covering up.”
Reportedly, the area is already well known to nudists so the official status is not likely to cause distress to locals, although the naturist designation has provoked strong opposition from a minority of members of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
The beach isn’t technically a “nudist” area. Rather, it’s simply a place that is “clothing optional,” INA chief Pat Gallagher told The Independent. “We don’t go out to offend anyone. We simply want to go there, lie in the sun, get in the water, have a swim…But we don’t want to wear anything, that’s all.”
The unveilings of other nude-friendly spaces already popular among naturists like Corballis in Donabate, north county Dublin, or Sallymount near Brittas Bay in Wicklow, are expected to follow.
The country, according to Gallagher, “has had nudist people using beaches all around Ireland for as long as I can remember for nude bathing.”
The demand is there and his organization had been lobbying for the designation of other official naturist places in a country that more often than not is “a little chilly.”
“Ireland bares all, opening its first nudist beach – would you strip off and brace the Irish chill?” the Sunday Express asked its readers.
“Usually a trip to an Irish beach requires putting more clothes rather than taking them off” teased the BBC. “But for people who can ‘bare’ the cold, there’s now somewhere in Ireland where they can go and be natural.”
It’s expected that the designation at Dublin’s Hawk Cliff would lead to a tourism boost for Ireland. “Other (nudist) federations would recommend to their members to come to Ireland, providing there are areas they can feel safe” said Gallagher, who admitted that he has spent many years going naked at “out of the way” beaches around Ireland – without problem.
