Dogging in Ireland

Ireland’s dogging scene is small and discreet, and almost all of it is arranged online. Every so often a local paper discovers it and is scandalised – in 2011 the Limerick Leader reported that nearly 40 public places around Limerick were being used for dogging, and that summer a Galway senator was “gobsmacked” to learn of around 40 more across the county. The scene hasn’t gone anywhere since. It has just got quieter about it.

What is it called in Ireland?

Dogging – the same word as in Britain, and the one Irish people search for. You’ll also hear people talk about meets, car fun or being watched, but there’s no special Irish term.

Where is the scene busiest?

Dublin, by a distance. More than 5,300 dogging spots and meet-ups have been shared across the Republic’s 26 counties, and over 1,500 of them are in Dublin. Cork (476) and Galway (363) come next, and Dublin’s neighbours Kildare, Meath, Louth and Westmeath each have more than 200, as does Wexford. Even the smallest counties, such as Offaly and Longford, have a few dozen. WhosDogging’s own Irish members follow the same pattern: Dublin first, then Cork.

It isn’t only men looking, either. Couples post too – some of them first-timers hoping to find another couple to watch or join in – and in Galway and Cork there are posts asking who’s about that night.

How meets are arranged

Almost everything starts online. Many listings are really just posts asking who’s around tonight – at a beach, a park or a car park – so plenty of meets come together on the day, with directions sent privately. Signals are agreed in advance. One man in the Dublin commuter belt described the signal at his local car park: an empty coffee cup left on the roof. He also picked a corner with no cameras pointing at it – a reminder that plenty of car parks are watched.

Where do people go?

The usual kinds of places: quiet car parks at forests and beaches, lay-bys on country roads, and the far corners of big car parks after dark. We don’t name spots. Check opening hours, too – Dublin’s Phoenix Park, for example, stays open around the clock, but most of its car parks close an hour before dark. And remember that walkers, anglers and late-night swimmers use a lot of the same places.

Swingers’ parties

Ireland’s swinging scene is mostly private parties rather than big clubs. One organiser who has run events for about seven years told the Irish Mirror that his parties centre on Dublin city centre but travel around the country most Saturdays. He keeps numbers to 24 and rents apartments, because hotels complained about the noise. For couples who want to meet people before trying anything outdoors, it’s a gentler way in.

Naturist beaches

Ireland has no official nude beach. Under the 2017 sexual offences law, being naked isn’t a crime in itself unless you mean to cause fear or alarm, and in 2018 Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council agreed to put up signs at Hawk Cliff in Dalkey warning visitors that they might meet nude bathers – while insisting it wasn’t designating a nudist beach. Naturists also use quiet stretches such as Sallymount, south of the main beach at Brittas Bay in Wicklow, and Inch in Kerry.

Then there’s the Forty Foot at Sandycove, for generations a men-only bathing place where men swam naked. Women protested there in 1974, a few swam nude in 1989, and the bathers’ association finally admitted women members in 2014. All of these are for swimming and sunbathing – nothing sexual.

Rain and long evenings

The weather is the obvious obstacle: it rains a lot, and winter nights are cold and wet. The upside is summer, when it doesn’t get properly dark until well after ten. That means late nights in June and July.

Staying on the right side of the law in Ireland

Irish law is stricter than many people realise. Under section 45 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, having sex or masturbating in a public place is an offence in itself – nobody has to see it or complain. A “public place” means anywhere the public can go, paid or free, which includes car parks. It can mean a fine or, in serious cases, prison, and gardaí can arrest without a warrant. In 2024 a man was before a Donegal court charged under section 45 over alleged acts in a busy public car park, after five members of the public gave statements.

So keep it private, late and out of sight, and stop if anyone else turns up. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and has its own laws. For the wider picture, see Is dogging legal? (general information only, not legal advice).

Meeting people in Ireland

In a small country, discretion matters more than anywhere. WhosDogging has been running since 2006 and joining is free: find members in Ireland, chat first, and agree everything before you head out.