This is a list of Irish counties ranked by the length of their coastline. Ireland is an island in the north Atlantic Ocean, and is surrounded on all sides by the Atlantic and two of its local seas, the Celtic Sea off the island's south coast and the Irish Sea off its east coast. Seventeen counties have an ocean/sea coastline: nine with a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, seven with an Irish sea coastline and three with a coastline on the Celtic Sea. Three of these counties border two bodies of water; namely Antrim (Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea), Wexford (Irish Sea and Celtic Sea) and Cork (Celtic Sea and Atlantic Ocean). Additionally, Limerick and southern Kilkenny border the tidal zones of the rivers Shannon and Suir. Both counties also have active ports at Foynes and Belview, but have no exposed coastline.
Two sources are used: the first is a 1999 study by Brigitte Neilson and Mark Costello of Trinity College Dublin.[1] The study mapped the low-tide coastline of Ireland and its offshore islands using a Geographic information system. The study breaks down the coastline of each county on the island of Ireland into mainland and offshore lengths, and is one of the most cited studies on Irish coastal length.[2][3][4]
The second source is a Coastal Habitat Survey completed by the Heritage Council. It does not include the three coastal counties of Northern Ireland or Dublin and Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland.[5] However, it is an official source from a government-sponsored organisation.
The figures shown in the table are rounded to the nearest whole. As with any attempt at measuring coastal lengths, the figures are also subject to discrepancies inherent in different measuring approaches (see the coastline paradox). Counties in the Republic of Ireland are shown in normal type, while those in Northern Ireland are listed in italic type.
County
Neilson & Costello (1999)
Heritage Council (ROI Only) [note 1]
Total [note 2]
Rank
Mainland
Rank
Coastline
Rank
Cork
1,199 km (745 mi)
1
935 km (581 mi)
2
1,118 km (695 mi)
3
Mayo
1,109 km (689 mi)
2
729 km (453 mi)
3
1,168 km (726 mi)
1
Donegal
1,106 km (687 mi)
3
938 km (583 mi)
1
1,134 km (705 mi)
2
Galway
1,086 km (675 mi)
4
642 km (399 mi)
5
689 km (428 mi)
4
Kerry
886 km (551 mi)
5
727 km (452 mi)
4
684 km (425 mi)
5
Clare
377 km (234 mi)
6
306 km (190 mi)
7
366 km (227 mi)
6
Down
364 km (226 mi)
7
307 km (191 mi)
6
-
-
Wexford
273 km (170 mi)
8
253 km (157 mi)
8
264 km (164 mi)
7
Sligo
231 km (144 mi)
9
211 km (131 mi)
9
195 km (121 mi)
8
Antrim
205 km (127 mi)
10
175 km (109 mi)
11
-
-
Waterford
189 km (117 mi)
11
183 km (114 mi)
10
170 km (110 mi)
9
Dublin
169 km (105 mi)
12
155 km (96 mi)
12
-
-
Louth
103 km (64 mi)
13
103 km (64 mi)
13
90 km (56 mi)
11
Londonderry
75 km (47 mi)
14
75 km (47 mi)
14
-
-
Wicklow
64 km (40 mi)
15
64 km (40 mi)
15
61 km (38 mi)
12
Limerick
45 km (28 mi)
16
25 km (16 mi)
16
95 km (59 mi)
10
Kilkenny
24 km (15 mi)
17
24 km (15 mi)
17
-
-
Meath
17 km (11 mi)
18
17 km (11 mi)
18
21 km (13 mi)
13
Leitrim
5 km (3.1 mi)
19
5 km (3.1 mi)
19
5 km (3.1 mi)
14
Total
7,527 km (4,677 mi)
5,874 km (3,650 mi)
^"The Relative Lengths of Seashore Substrata Around the Coastline of Ireland as Determined by Digital Methods in a Geographical Information System". Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin. 22 April 1999. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
^"Importance of Ireland's marine resource". Marine Institute. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
^"National Marine Planning Framework: Motion". oireachtas.ie. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
^"Shelf Life". The Irish Times. 17 July 1999. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
^"Irish Coastal Habitats: A Study of Impacts on Designated Conservation Areas" (PDF). heritagecouncil.ie. Heritage Council. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
^"Managing the Donegal Coast in the Twenty-first Century" (PDF). research.thea.ie. Institute of Technology, Sligo. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
and 29 Related for: List of Irish counties by coastline information
listofIrishcounties ranked by the length of their coastline. Ireland is an island in the north Atlantic Ocean, and is surrounded on all sides by the...
is a listof nicknames for the traditional countiesofIreland and their inhabitants. The nicknames are mainly used with reference to the county's representative...
The Irish Sea is a 46,007 km2 (17,763 sq mi) body of water that separates the islands ofIreland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the...
County Cork (Irish: Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost countyofIreland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city...
themselves as Irish, while a Northern Irish or Ulster identity is claimed by a significant minority from all backgrounds. The creation of Northern Ireland was accompanied...
Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest...
was exacerbated by the bursting of the Irish property bubble. The Irish name for Ireland is Éire, deriving from Ériu, a goddess in Irish mythology. The...
County Kerry (Irish: Contae Chiarraí) is a county on the southwest coast ofIreland, within the province of Munster and the Southern Region. It is bordered...
indented Scottish coastline. The English coastline varies a great deal by the seas and regions it borders. The North Sea coast of England is mainly flat...
geography of Gwynedd is mountainous, with a long coastline to the west. Much of the county is covered by Snowdonia National Park (Eryri), which contains...
counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by the Irish Sea...
County Donegal (/ˌdʌniˈɡɔːl, ˌdɒn-/ DUN-ee-GAWL, DON-; Irish: Contae Dhún na nGall) is a countyofIreland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern...
pronunciation: [ˈdəvɛd]) is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between...
County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: Coontie Lunnonderrie), also known as County Derry (Irish: Contae Dhoire), is one of the six countiesof Northern Ireland...
separated from the other by Lough Allen in the middle of the county. Leitrim has the shortest length ofcoastlineof any Irishcounty that touches the sea...
Waterford County Westmeath County Wexford County Wicklow The counties arranged in other ways: ListofIrishcountiesby population ListofIrishcountiesby area...
borders the Irish Sea along a narrow strip between the rivers Boyne and Delvin, giving it the second shortest coastlineof any county. Meath County Council...
County Down (Irish: Contae an Dúin) is one of the six countiesof Northern Ireland, one of the nine countiesof Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two...
Fingal County Council (Irish: Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the local authority of the countyof Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities...
County Sligo (/ˈslaɪɡoʊ/ SLY-goh, Irish: Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the province...
The coastlineof Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English...
Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society Irish Naturalists' Journal Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Flora ofIrelandListof mammals in Ireland List...
County Waterford (Irish: Contae Phort Láirge) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region. It is named...
by the Central Bank ofIrelandofIrish modified GNI (or GNI*) for measuring the Irish economy (2016 GDP is 143% ofIrish 2016 GNI*, and OECD Irish gross...