Wild Atlantic Aways · Things to Do in Kerry · Ardfert
Banna Strand
Beach · Walk the waterline at low tide, in any season
A Blue Flag beach in North Kerry backed by dunes over 20 metres high, where Roger Casement came ashore in 1916. Free parking, 25 minutes from Fenit.
Banna Strand is the long open beach of North Kerry, facing the Atlantic between Ballyheigue and Barrow. On a clear day you can see the mountains of the Dingle Peninsula across the water to the south.
Most people come for the dunes. The National Parks and Wildlife Service records marram ridges more than 20 metres high in places, and the whole stretch is protected as the Akeragh, Banna and Barrow Harbour Special Area of Conservation. Keep to the paths through the dunes, because the marram grass is what holds the sand in place.
The beach holds the Blue Flag for 2026 and has lifeguards in the summer months; the notice board at the beach gives the hours. Parking at the main car park is free and there are public toilets beside it. Out of season it is a walking beach. We flew our drone over it on 1 November and there were still people out along the waterline.
On Good Friday, 21 April 1916, Roger Casement came ashore here from a German submarine with Robert Monteith and Daniel Bailey, part of a plan to land German arms for the Easter Rising. He was arrested the same day at an old ringfort inland, now called Casement’s Fort, and executed in London that August. A memorial to Casement and Monteith stands by the dunes.
From our house in Fenit it is about 25 minutes by car through Ardfert, where the cathedral ruins are worth a stop. Allow about half an hour from our cottages at Camp and about 40 minutes from 59 William Street in Listowel. Ballyheigue Beach is the same sand further north if you would rather start walking from the village.
Highlights
- Blue Flag 2026, lifeguards in summer
- Protected dunes over 20 metres high
- Where Roger Casement landed in April 1916
Stay nearby
Holiday homes of ours with Banna Strand on their doorstep: The Lighthouse, Fenit (Fenit).
Compare homes within walking distance of a beach
From our blog: Banna Strand: the dunes, the Casement landing and a beach walk from Fenit
More around Ardfert: Ardfert Cathedral
More beaches in Kerry: Fenit Beach, Castlegregory Beach, Derrynadivva Bay, Aughacasla Bay Beach. All beaches