Rogerstown Estuary
Rogerstown Estuary, or Inbhear Bhaile Roiséir in Irish, is a sea inlet and wetland on Ireland’s east coast, about 25 km north of Dublin. It lies just north of the Donabate-Portrane peninsula and south of Rush.
It covers around 3.6 square kilometres (about 900 acres) and is made up of salt marshes, raised salt marsh, wet meadows and shallow creeks. A railway line crosses the estuary on a causeway and bridge built in the 1840s.
The estuary is fed mainly by the Ballyboghil River and its Corduff Stream, with other waters coming from Portrane, Balleally Stream, Bride’s Stream, Jones’s Stream and smallerChannels from the Lusk area.
Rogerstown Estuary is a protected nature site. It is a National Park and Wildlife Service nature reserve, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Ramsar wetland site. It is especially important for wintering wildfowl and waders, and for birds on their migratory routes. Birds from the Arctic visit the estuary, and Brent Geese are found here in internationally important numbers, along with 14 other species of national importance.
The nearby former Balleally landfill site was turned into Rogerstown Park and reopened in 2019.
The mouth of the estuary sits between Portrane and Rush beaches. Because the opening is very narrow, there are legends about a long-ago bridge across it. A remnant of that bridge is said to remain on Portrane beach.
Turvey is a nearby townland that touches the estuary and is linked to the Goban Saor legend, a story about a magical axe that could hold back the sea at Turvey Strand.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:39 (CET).