Dipper › Co. Donegal

Ballyhiernan, Fanad

Excellent Quality 2025 Green Coast faces N

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99
Grand · overhead 2.4 m, period 12 s
Waves
2.4 m
12 s period from NW · model cell 1.5 km out
Sea
15.1°
Grand. M2 buoy, Irish Sea east of Dublin, 245 km away.
Tide
3.5 m
Rising, nearly high. High at 10:05.
Wind
28 km/h
Moderate breeze, SSE, offshore, gusts 45
Daylight
07:34
Sunrise. Sunset 19:05. Air 13°C.

Best surf each day

Daylight hours
Today
09:00
Grand 99/100
overhead 2.4 m, period 12 s, offshore wind · 2.4 m · 28 km/h
▼ 03:55 ▲ 10:05 ▼ 16:30 ▲ 22:50
Sat, 3 Oct
15:00
Grand 99/100
overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind · 1.7 m · 19 km/h
▼ 04:50 ▲ 11:20 ▼ 17:55
Sun, 4 Oct
08:00
Grand 81/100
overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind · 2.1 m · 30 km/h
▲ 00:35 ▼ 06:05 ▲ 13:20 ▼ 20:00
Mon, 5 Oct
13:00
Grand 81/100
overhead 2.5 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind · 2.5 m · 31 km/h
▲ 02:20 ▼ 08:00 ▲ 15:00 ▼ 21:40
Tue, 6 Oct
10:00
Grand 87/100
overhead 2.2 m, period 11 s, light onshore · 2.3 m · 14 km/h
▲ 03:35 ▼ 09:25 ▲ 16:05 ▼ 22:35
Wed, 7 Oct
10:00
Grim 0/100
no wave data here · 20 km/h
▲ 04:40 ▼ 10:25 ▲ 16:55 ▼ 23:15
Thu, 8 Oct
13:00
Grim 0/100
no wave data here · 14 km/h
▲ 05:20 ▼ 11:10 ▲ 17:40 ▼ 23:55

Week at a glance

Tap or drag to pick an hour. Everything below follows.
Fri 09:0099 · Grandoverhead 2.4 m · period 12 s
Fri 2Sat 3Sun 4Mon 5Tue 6Wed 7Thu 80003060912151821Fri 08:00 · 99 GrandFri 09:00 · 99 GrandFri 10:00 · 99 GrandFri 11:00 · 81 GrandFri 12:00 · 94 GrandFri 13:00 · 94 GrandFri 14:00 · 94 GrandFri 15:00 · 99 GrandFri 16:00 · 81 GrandFri 17:00 · 81 GrandFri 18:00 · 81 GrandFri 19:00 · 99 GrandFri 20:00 · 81 Grand · nightFri 21:00 · 81 Grand · nightFri 22:00 · 81 Grand · nightFri 23:00 · 81 Grand · nightSat 00:00 · 81 Grand · nightSat 01:00 · 81 Grand · nightSat 02:00 · 89 Grand · nightSat 03:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 04:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 05:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 06:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 07:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 08:00 · 89 GrandSat 09:00 · 89 GrandSat 10:00 · 89 GrandSat 11:00 · 81 GrandSat 12:00 · 81 GrandSat 13:00 · 81 GrandSat 14:00 · 81 GrandSat 15:00 · 99 GrandSat 16:00 · 99 GrandSat 17:00 · 99 GrandSat 18:00 · 99 GrandSat 19:00 · 99 GrandSat 20:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 21:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 22:00 · 99 Grand · nightSat 23:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 00:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 01:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 02:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 03:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 04:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 05:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 06:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 07:00 · 99 Grand · nightSun 08:00 · 81 GrandSun 09:00 · 81 GrandSun 10:00 · 81 GrandSun 11:00 · 81 GrandSun 12:00 · 81 GrandSun 13:00 · 81 GrandSun 14:00 · 81 GrandSun 15:00 · 81 GrandSun 16:00 · 81 GrandSun 17:00 · 81 GrandSun 18:00 · 81 GrandSun 19:00 · 81 GrandSun 20:00 · 81 Grand · nightSun 21:00 · 81 Grand · nightSun 22:00 · 81 Grand · nightSun 23:00 · 81 Grand · nightMon 00:00 · 69 Decent · nightMon 01:00 · 69 Decent · nightMon 02:00 · 81 Grand · nightMon 03:00 · 39 Blowy · nightMon 04:00 · 51 Fresh · nightMon 05:00 · 39 Blowy · nightMon 06:00 · 39 Blowy · nightMon 07:00 · 39 Blowy · nightMon 10:00 · 51 FreshMon 13:00 · 81 GrandMon 16:00 · 81 GrandMon 19:00 · 81 GrandMon 22:00 · 81 Grand · nightTue 01:00 · 89 Grand · nightTue 04:00 · 99 Grand · nightTue 07:00 · 73 Decent · nightTue 10:00 · 87 GrandTue 13:00 · 73 DecentTue 16:00 · 73 DecentTue 19:00 · 73 DecentTue 22:00 · 89 Grand · nightWed 01:00 · 89 Grand · nightWed 04:00 · 0 Grim · nightWed 07:00 · 0 Grim · nightWed 10:00 · 0 GrimWed 13:00 · 0 GrimWed 19:00 · 0 GrimThu 01:00 · 0 Grim · nightThu 07:00 · 0 Grim · nightThu 13:00 · 0 GrimThu 19:00 · 0 Grim

Fri, 2 Oct, 09:00

99 Grand
  • overhead 2.4 m
  • period 12 s
  • offshore wind
  • high tide
  • offshore wind
NESWsunrisesunset2.4 m28 km/h
faces 353° N · wind offshore
Waves
2.4 m @ 12 s from NW
Wind
28 km/h SSE · gusts 45
Tide
3.5 m · high
Air
13°C · dry

Meteogram

Score, waves, wind (green offshore, amber cross, red onshore), rain and air, tide

Hour by hour

Next 48 hours
TimeSurfWavesPeriodFromWindGustTideRainAirWhy
Today
09:0099 Grand2.4 m (2.0 swell)12 sNW28 km/h SSE453.5 m ▲dry13°overhead 2.4 m, period 12 s, offshore wind
10:0099 Grand2.3 m (2.0 swell)12 sNW31 km/h SSE483.7 m ▲0.1 mm13°overhead 2.3 m, period 12 s, offshore wind
11:0081 Grand2.2 m (1.9 swell)12 sNW32 km/h S503.7 m ▲0.3 mm14°overhead 2.2 m, period 12 s, strong offshore
12:0094 Grand2.1 m (1.8 swell)11 sNW31 km/h S503.4 m 1.2 mm14°overhead 2.2 m, period 11 s, offshore wind
13:0094 Grand2.1 m (1.8 swell)11 sNW26 km/h S492.9 m 1.9 mm14°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, offshore wind
14:0094 Grand2.1 m (1.7 swell)11 sNW24 km/h SSW462.3 m 1.2 mm13°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, offshore wind
15:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.7 swell)11 sNW18 km/h SSW421.7 m 0.7 mm13°overhead 2.2 m, period 11 s, offshore wind
16:0081 Grand2.2 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW27 km/h SW441.4 m ▼0.1 mm14°overhead 2.2 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
17:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW18 km/h WSW441.3 m ▼dry13°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
18:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW21 km/h WSW451.5 m dry13°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
19:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW17 km/h SW431.9 m dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, offshore wind
20:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW21 km/h WSW382.4 m dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
21:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW26 km/h W372.9 m dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
22:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW24 km/h W363.3 m ▲dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
23:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.6 swell)11 sNW23 km/h W363.5 m ▲dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
Saturday, 3 October
00:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.5 swell)11 sNW27 km/h W343.4 m ▲dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
01:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.5 swell)11 sNW24 km/h W323.1 m dry12°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
02:0089 Grand2.1 m (1.5 swell)11 sNW14 km/h SW302.6 m dry11°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, cross-shore wind
03:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.4 swell)11 sNW17 km/h SSW272.0 m dry9°overhead 2.1 m, period 11 s, offshore wind
04:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.4 swell)11 sNW14 km/h SSW261.6 m ▼dry10°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
05:0099 Grand2.0 m (1.4 swell)10 sNW15 km/h SSW261.4 m ▼dry10°overhead 2.0 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
06:0099 Grand2.0 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW13 km/h SSW271.5 m ▼dry11°overhead 2.0 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
07:0099 Grand2.0 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW14 km/h SSW301.9 m dry11°overhead 2.0 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
08:0089 Grand2.0 m (1.2 swell)10 sNW18 km/h WSW292.3 m dry12°overhead 2.0 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
09:0089 Grand1.9 m (1.1 swell)10 sNW16 km/h WSW282.8 m dry12°overhead 1.9 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
10:0089 Grand1.9 m (1.1 swell)10 sNW17 km/h WSW283.2 m dry13°overhead 1.9 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
11:0081 Grand1.9 m (1.0 swell)10 sNW18 km/h WSW283.4 m ▲dry14°overhead 1.9 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
12:0081 Grand1.8 m (1.0 swell)10 sNW20 km/h WSW293.4 m ▲dry14°overhead 1.8 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
13:0081 Grand1.8 m (0.9 swell)10 sNW18 km/h SW303.3 m dry15°overhead 1.8 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
14:0081 Grand1.8 m (0.9 swell)10 sNW20 km/h SW303.0 m dry15°overhead 1.8 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind
15:0099 Grand1.7 m (0.9 swell)10 sNW19 km/h SW312.5 m dry15°overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
16:0099 Grand1.7 m (0.9 swell)10 sNW20 km/h SSW312.0 m dry16°overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
17:0099 Grand1.7 m (0.9 swell)10 sNW21 km/h SSW311.7 m ▼dry15°overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
18:0099 Grand1.7 m (0.9 swell)10 sNW13 km/h SSW301.6 m ▼dry14°overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
19:0099 Grand1.7 m (1.0 swell)10 sNW14 km/h S281.6 m ▼dry14°overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
20:0099 Grand1.7 m (1.0 swell)10 sNW16 km/h S311.9 m dry14°overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
21:0099 Grand1.8 m (1.1 swell)10 sNW21 km/h SSW362.2 m dry13°overhead 1.8 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
22:0099 Grand1.8 m (1.1 swell)10 sNW21 km/h SSW392.6 m dry14°overhead 1.8 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
23:0099 Grand1.9 m (1.1 swell)10 sNW26 km/h S412.9 m dry14°overhead 1.9 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
Sunday, 4 October
00:0099 Grand1.9 m (1.2 swell)10 sNW27 km/h S423.1 m ▲dry14°overhead 1.9 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
01:0099 Grand2.0 m (1.2 swell)10 sNW28 km/h SSW433.1 m ▲dry14°overhead 2.0 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
02:0099 Grand2.0 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW30 km/h SSW443.0 m dry14°overhead 2.0 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
03:0099 Grand2.0 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW28 km/h SSW442.6 m dry14°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
04:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW27 km/h SSW442.2 m 0.1 mm15°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
05:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW28 km/h SSW451.8 m 0.1 mm15°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
06:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.3 swell)10 sNW31 km/h SSW451.6 m ▼0.1 mm15°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
07:0099 Grand2.1 m (1.2 swell)10 sNW30 km/h SSW441.7 m ▼0.1 mm16°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
08:0081 Grand2.1 m (1.2 swell)10 sNW30 km/h SW461.9 m dry15°overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind

Where the energy comes from

Wave energy (H²·T) this week by direction, against the swell window

Swell arriving between W and E reaches this spot; anything else is blocked by land and counts for much less.

Tide today

Buncrana, 20 km away · metres above chart datum
03:5510:0516:3022:50
Low 03:55 · 1.1 mHigh 10:05 · 3.7 mLow 16:30 · 1.3 mHigh 22:50 · 3.5 m

The spot

Faces
353° N
Swell window
W 280° → E 80°
Exposure
Open coast · model cell 1.5 km out
Water
Excellent Quality

Facing and swell window are derived from the wave model's coastline around the spot, not surveyed. Know better? Tell us.

Water quality

Recent grades: 2024 Excellent, 2023 Excellent, 2022 Excellent. The EPA flags a short-term pollution risk here after heavy rain.

Beach profile (PDF) · beaches.ie

On the ground

No lifeguard listedNo toiletsParkingDogs on lead

As listed by Donegal County Council. Open in Maps.

Sauna after?

The Hot Barrel Sauna · Portsalon Pier (also Kerrykeel Pier) · 7 km · mobile

itSaunatrailer · The Wee Beach, Marble Hill, Dunfanaghy · 15 km · fixed

Cocoon Sauna · Portnablagh Pier, Dunfanaghy · 16 km · fixed

The Swilly Sauna · Main Beach car park, Rathmullan · 20 km · mobile

Ballyhiernan beach is a north facing, long sandy beach consisting of sandy dunes. There are three bays on the beach Carrickachurdin Bay, Kinlackagh Bay and Trabane Bay. Ballyhiernan Beach has a wide variety of wildlife including a vast variety of birds and two notable animal species have been spotted on the site, the Common Frog and Irish Hare. Activities include swimming, kayaking, boating, surfing, windsurfing, sailing, power boating, jet skiing, diving and other land based activities on the beach.

Put Ballyhiernan, Fanad in your calendar

Dipper Plus drops the best surf hour here into your phone every day, with waves, sea temperature, tide and a 45-minute nudge. Up to three spots.

Set up Dipper Plus
🏄 Ballyhiernan, Fanad surf · Grand · sea 15° · 2.4 mFri, 2 Oct 08:30–09:30 · overhead 2.4 m, period 12 s, offshore wind
🏄 Ballyhiernan, Fanad surf · Grand · sea 15° · 1.7 mSat, 3 Oct 14:30–15:30 · overhead 1.7 m, period 10 s, offshore wind
🏄 Ballyhiernan, Fanad surf · Grand · sea 15° · 2.1 mSun, 4 Oct 07:30–08:30 · overhead 2.1 m, period 10 s, cross-shore wind

Nearby spots

Kinny Lough

2 km · Co. Donegal · Not classified

Magheradromman Lough

2 km · Co. Donegal · Not classified

Kindrum Lough

2 km · Co. Donegal · Not classified

Shannagh Lough

2 km · Co. Donegal · Not classified

Score is Dipper's own blend. It rates comfort, not safety. Forecast: Met Éireann. Waves: Marine Institute Irish Shelf wave model.