Ireland Is Getting Its First Nude Beach

By Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure

Despite average April temperatures of 50°F, Ireland will open its first nude beach next month.

Signs will soon be posted at Hawk Cliff Beach warning visitors that they may spot a lot of skin on the sand ahead.

However, nudism won’t be a requirement to lay out on the beach. Instead, it’s simply becoming a “clothing optional” area.

"That area has been used for many years, not only with the nudists but also with bathing suit persons,” Pat Gallagher from the Irish Naturist Society told the Irish Examiner. “It has worked very well over the years between the two communities and there has never been any problems.”

The beach in located in Dalkey, about a half-hour drive south of Dublin.

The nude beach will likely remain a seasonal attraction because of Ireland’s less-than-tropic temperatures. "I know we don't get the best of weather, we don't get Mediterranean weather, but we get pretty good weather at the best of times,” Gallagher told Good Morning Ulster.

The organization has been campaigning for an official nudist beach for several years. They are hoping to expand the “clothing optional” signs to other beaches across the country.

Last year, Irish law regarding nudism changed. It is only considered an offense when the nudist in question is “intending to cause fear, distress, or alarm,” or engages in sexual activity.