Storm Damage in Courtown Beach

Photo of A woodland tangle on Courtown Beach after Storm Chandra by Mick O Callaghan

I drove down to the Burrow Car Park in Courtown and parked my car, laced up my strong walking boots and headed for a beach and forest walk . I walked over The Burrow or White Gates Bridge which was the Earl of Courtown’s private entrance to the beach.

I turned right and onto the forest path and right again over the little foot bridge while viewing widespread desolation caused by trees and roots blocking up the stream.

I was visibly shocked when I saw the damage caused by Storms Chandra and The January storm Eowyn which had recently battered the area.

The river flowing down here is usually a gentle trickle but today it has turned into a raging torrent of water gouging out a huge path as it roars into the Irish Sea and giving the river basin an early spring clean-up.

It is scary to stop and observe the tremendous power of the sea and how powerless we are to stop it unleashing its powerful energy.

This once scenic area had been battered by incessant wind and rain during January 2026 which was the wettest January on record according to Met Eireann.

High winds propelled huge white walls of foaming water on to Courtown beach and washed away the beautiful high sandbanks all along from the Burrow to Dodds Rocks

These sandbanks protected our lovely forest paths which we had traversed over many years. Now the paths are no more, and walking is confined to the beach.

When I was strolling along here the tide was low. I witnessed desolation. It was a beach full of roots and fallen trees where once we had lovely beach walks.

Now it is hazardous terrain littered with tree stumps protruding , roots of other trees are visible and ready to come tumbling down when we have the next heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds form the east.

I looked in the forest and saw trees snapped off in half. Dozens of mature specimens are on the ground blocking forest paths. It is a sad sight to see utter devastation with every yard I walk and the tangle of roots and branches adorning the beach.

I keep progressing my way back to Dodds Rocks taking great care not to trip up. With each advancing step the scale of the carnage in Courtown Woods is looking worse and hard to comprehend it all. Some trees which were so majestic are just  dangling over the badly damaged sand banks and are ready to fall further,

Their roots are embedded in sand, and the long period of rain has loosened the subsoil, so many of them are hanging in a perilous position.

The further back I travel the more amounts of sand I notice have been washed out to sea and it is difficult to envisage it ever returning here.

In the not-too-distant past we had rock armour installed along parts of Courtown beach, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped coastal erosion. The rocks are subsiding, and the sea has washed over them, devastating the dunes and trees behind them.

It is difficult to see any engineering solutions that will save Courtown beach in the immediate future because of the financial costs involved.

We have been warned to expect more of these major climate events in the future. If we get many more of the ferocity of Chandra, we can see the sea rushing through  to Courtown Golf Club and washing away the road from Courtown to the Burrow. At the end of last year part of this sand-based road caved in with approximately 15 trees collapsing into the river

As I go further back the beach, I can see the repeat pattern of massive roots of trees lying on the sand leaving behind some gigantic craters in the ground and sand dunes with every step of the way I take. My camera is on overdrive.

I continued back till I came to the concrete ramp on the way back to Dodds Rocks and decided that the path back to Dodds Rock was too dangerous for me to navigate my way through the stoney beach. I wasn’t willing to risk a twisted ankle and so I angled my way over fallen trees and pulled myself up the damaged concrete path with the aid of the rope. The base had fallen in here and the slope of the path was steeper than usual.

I made my way on to the back forest path and up to view the waterfall. It was breathtaking to see the water cascading down here. I dallied a while to view this beautiful sight in absolute peace, quiet and solitude. I photographed it and moved on to rejoin the forest path heading back to Courtown. I was shocked when I saw the absolute devastation here in the wood with so many majestic trees ripped up. The forest path was just torn apart and so I was forced to rejoin the beach to get back towards home.

I met several strolling friends on my return walk. We walked our beach, not our woodland trails. We took lots of photos and remembered nostalgically the lovely high paths overlooking the beach, where we could look out and see Wales on a good day.

The whole landscape of Courtown Beach has been reshaped and changed utterly in a few weeks never again to return to its former glory.

It’s time to send in a large contingent of Coillte people, Council Staff, army or allow locals with chainsaws giving them access to the beach and providing them with free. winter fuel. It needs urgent action now, not photos, reports, assessments and words.

We can all do it together and make Courtown great again.  Ar aghaidh linn.  

Mick O Callaghan          February 14^th, 2026