| Date | Tide | Dublin Port range | Galway range | Dublin high / low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 28 Sept | Spring | 3.8 m | 4.9 m | 1.9 / -2.0 m |
| Sun, 4 Oct | Neap | 2.0 m | 2.2 m | 1.1 / -0.8 m |
| Sun, 11 Oct | Spring | 3.7 m | 4.5 m | 1.9 / -1.9 m |
| Mon, 19 Oct | Neap | 1.4 m | 1.4 m | 1.0 / -0.5 m |
| Wed, 28 Oct | Spring | 3.7 m | 4.8 m | 1.8 / -1.9 m |
| Tue, 3 Nov | Neap | 2.3 m | 2.7 m | 1.4 / -0.8 m |
| Sat, 7 Nov | Spring | 3.3 m | 3.8 m | 1.7 / -1.6 m |
| Wed, 18 Nov | Neap | 1.8 m | 1.9 m | 1.1 / -0.6 m |
| Fri, 27 Nov | Spring | 3.7 m | 4.7 m | 1.9 / -1.9 m |
| Wed, 2 Dec | Neap | 2.4 m | 2.7 m | 1.5 / -0.9 m |
| Thu, 10 Dec | Spring | 3.0 m | 3.7 m | 1.6 / -1.4 m |
| Fri, 18 Dec | Neap | 2.0 m | 2.3 m | 1.2 / -0.8 m |
| Sat, 26 Dec | Spring | 4.1 m | 5.0 m | 2.0 / -2.0 m |
Dates
Spring and neap tide dates, Wed, 23 Sept onwards
Each row is the day the daily range (highest high minus lowest low) peaks or bottoms out at Dublin Port. The same dates apply on every Irish coast; the Galway column shows how much bigger the west coast swing is. The biggest spring in this window is Sat, 26 Dec at 4.1 m.
Heights in metres relative to OD Malin. Predictions © Marine Institute (CC BY 4.0). Ranges quoted are for the peak day; the two days either side are nearly as big (or as small).
Why it happens
Spring tides and neap tides
Around full moon and new moon the sun and moon pull together and the tide swings furthest: very high highs and very low lows. These are spring tides, and they arrive roughly every two weeks all year round, nothing to do with the season. At the quarter moons the range shrinks and you get neap tides, when the water barely moves off the beach.
You can spot springs in the tables without a calendar. Look for the days where the gap between high and low is largest. Those are the mornings when the widest strand appears at low water, and the evenings when the sea comes right up to the wall.
The largest springs of the year, around the March and September equinoxes, are the ones that flood car parks and coastal roads if they coincide with an onshore gale.
What to do with the dates
Spring lows are the days for rock pooling, walking to tidal islands and finding the widest strand: Sandymount, Bull Island, Omey and the Cunnigar all show the most sand on a spring low. Spring highs are the days to check a boat on a drying mooring, and the days when a swim from steps or a slip is easiest. Neaps are the quiet week: less current in estuary channels, less water movement on the beach, and the safest time for beginners in kayaks and on paddle boards in a tidal bay.
For exact times on the day, open the page for your own spot. Every station and beach page carries a 30-day calendar with the range for each day, so you can see the springs and neaps for your coast at a glance.
Questions
Spring and neap tide questions
When is the next spring tide in Ireland?
The next spring tide is around Mon, 28 Sept, when the range at Dublin Port reaches 3.8 m (high water 1.9 m, low water -2.0 m OD Malin). The peak lasts two or three days either side of that date.
When is the next neap tide?
The next neap tide is around Sun, 4 Oct, when the range at Dublin Port drops to 2.0 m. Neaps come about a week after each spring tide.
What is a spring tide?
A spring tide is the tide with the biggest range: the highest high water and the lowest low water of the fortnight. It happens a day or two after full moon and new moon, when the sun and moon pull on the sea along the same line. The name comes from the water "springing up", not from the season; there are spring tides every month of the year.
What is a neap tide?
A neap tide is the tide with the smallest range, a day or two after the first and last quarter moons, when the sun and moon pull at right angles and partly cancel each other. High water is lower than usual and low water does not go out as far.
Are spring tides the same everywhere in Ireland?
The dates are the same, because they follow the moon. The size differs a lot: a big spring at Galway or on the Shannon estuary moves the water more than 5 m, at Dublin about 4 m, and at Arklow or Rosslare under 2 m. Check the range column on the 30-day calendar of your own beach or harbour page.
Which spring tides cause flooding?
The largest springs of the year fall near the March and September equinoxes. On their own they are harmless and predictable. Coastal flooding happens when one of them coincides with low air pressure and a strong onshore wind, which can add half a metre or more to the predicted level. Met Éireann warns of that combination in its sea area forecast.
Sources
Sources and method
Every time and height on this page is an astronomical prediction from the Marine Institute of Ireland for the Dublin Port and Galway tide gauge, taken from the open IMI_TidePrediction_HighLow dataset on the Institute’s ERDDAP server. We download the data and rebuild every page each night, convert the UTC timestamps to Irish local time (IST in summer, GMT in winter) and group them into calendar days. Nothing is estimated or smoothed by us.
Heights are metres above Ordnance Datum Malin, the reference used on Irish charts and Ordnance Survey maps. To compare with a chart that uses Lowest Astronomical Tide, add the local LAT to OD Malin offset shown on the chart.
- Marine Institute: tide prediction high and low water dataset (ERDDAP)
- Marine Institute: Irish National Tide Gauge Network
- Met Éireann: sea area forecast (wind and surge outlook)
- Water Safety Ireland: beach and open water safety advice
- Irish Coast Guard: in an emergency call 112 or 999
Data licence: CC BY 4.0, Marine Institute. Page rebuilt 23 September 2026. Predictions ignore weather: onshore gales and low pressure can add half a metre or more to the real level. For navigation use official Admiralty or Irish Lights publications alongside this page.
Elsewhere on the coast