A dune peninsula once reached by rowing boat, now 20 minutes from Dublin Airport.
The Island sits on a sandy peninsula north of Dublin, with the sea on three sides and Malahide across the estuary. For more than 80 years members reached it by rowing boat, signalling the boatman with a disc on the pavilion. Today you drive in through Donabate, yet the course still feels set apart, a run of tall dunes and narrow valleys. It is close enough to Dublin Airport to play on the day you land.
Book online through the club’s visitor booking system or by phone on +353 1 843 6205. Full payment is taken when you book and confirmation arrives by email. The cancellation window is long: you get the prepayment back only if you cancel 90 days or more before your date, and inside that the whole fee is lost. Moving to a peak time adds a charge, and moving into the next year may mean the new year’s rate. The club does not publish fixed visitor days or a handicap limit. Where2Golf, in a listing last updated in 2023, gives weekdays and weekends after 4pm and says a handicap is required, so check the times shown when you book.
Visitor green fee, Monday to Sunday, for the 2027 visitor season (1 April to 31 October). Fees outside the season are not published. Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The club is recognised as founded in 1890, although recent research suggests 1888 or 1889. The original designer is unknown; the early holes followed the valleys between the dunes. When a new clubhouse at Corballis opened road access in 1973, the course was turned round to a plan by Fred Hawtree with changes from Eddie Hackett, and his son Martin Hawtree made later revisions. Between October 2019 and March 2020 Mackenzie & Ebert rebuilt the front nine to match the back. The 4th, Portrane, is a downhill par three to an upturned saucer of a green. The 6th, Desert, is the only blind drive, and the 7th plays from the highest tee on the links. The 18th, Boulia Field, is a long par four to the deepest green on the course. The Island has been an Open qualifying venue and shared the 2019 Amateur Championship with Portmarnock, staging half of the strokeplay qualifying.
Because the cancellation window is 90 days, book The Island once your flights are fixed, not before. Its closeness to the airport makes it a natural arrival-day or departure-day round on a Dublin links trip, with Portmarnock and Royal Dublin on the other days. The rate is the same every day of the week in the visitor season, so let tee-time availability rather than price decide the day. Hire clubs are kept on site, which helps if you are flying in with hand luggage only.
Dublin Airport is about 20 minutes by road. Donabate station, on the Dublin to Belfast line, has trains from Dublin Connolly in about half an hour; from there it is a short taxi ride to the clubhouse. Malahide is just across the estuary but about 25 minutes round by road.
Nearby: 1. Portmarnock Golf Club (6 km) · 2. The K Club (37 km) · 3. Royal County Down Golf Club (86 km) · Compare all Dublin tee times
Malahide, across the water, has the Grand Hotel on the seafront and plenty of restaurants. Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links, ten minutes further south, combines a hotel with its own links. The club also lets The Island Golf Lodge, a four-bedroom house by its practice range that sleeps eight, and guests who book it directly get a preferential green fee. Otherwise most visitors stay in Malahide, Swords near the airport, or Dublin city.
Portmarnock Golf Club is about 25 minutes south, and Royal Dublin on Bull Island a little further towards the city. Corballis, a public links, borders The Island and suits a quick extra nine. Off the course, Newbridge House and Farm in Donabate is a Georgian house with a working farm, and Malahide Castle and its gardens are across the estuary.
These packages have a confirmed round at The Island Golf Club in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
10 nights B&B, 7 rounds
Rounds: Portstewart · Castlerock · Royal Portrush (Dunluce) · Royal County Down · Royal Belfast · Portmarnock Old · The Island
Stay: Bushmills Inn on the Causeway Coast, the Europa Hotel in Belfast and the Grand Hotel Malahide
All three royals of Ulster plus Portmarnock and The Island, from three bases, with rest days in Belfast and Dublin.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
The published visitor season runs from 1 April to 31 October, and no winter visitor rate is listed, so ask the office before planning a round outside it. This stretch of the east coast is one of the drier parts of Ireland, though the peninsula is exposed to wind off the Irish Sea. Summer evenings are long enough to start after 4pm and finish in daylight.
Explore golf by monthThe published 2027 visitor rate is €375 per golfer, Monday to Sunday, during the season from 1 April to 31 October. Payment is due in full when you book.
You must cancel in writing by email at least 90 days before your tee time to recover the prepayment. A booking can be rescheduled subject to availability, and if the club closes the course you are offered a full refund or another date.
Yes, at €50, but only with a medical certificate. The rule applies to members and visitors alike, and the buggy must be reserved before the day of play.
About 20 minutes by road. Donabate railway station is close by, with trains from Dublin Connolly, so you can reach the club without a car.
Last checked 10 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
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