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BEACHGOERS have been hit with a months-long “do not swim” warning at a popular Irish spot.

And a second Dublin beach has been slapped with a similar warning that’s set to last less time.

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Dollymount strand sees thousands flock to the beach in the summer[/caption]

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Swimming at Sandymount strand has been banned for the summer[/caption]

The two beaches in question are the beloved Sandymount Strand in south Dublin and Dollymount Strand in north Dublin.

Sandymount Strand is a five kilometre stretch that’s popular among swimmers, cyclists, and walkers.

The bathing season there runs from June 1 to September 15 and sees thousands flock to the area.

But swimming on Sandymount strand has now been banned for the entire 2025 season – meaning swimmers can’t return to the waters until mid September.

The reason for the ban is that the water quality at the beach, tested by Dublin City Council, is poor.

Swimming in poor quality water could expose beachgoers to pollution and risk creating health problems.

The city council said: “A swim restriction applies at Sandymount Strand for the entire 2025 season.

“Based on the 2021 – 2024 bathing assessment, Sandymount Strand will be classified as Poor for the 2025 season.

“In accordance with 14(1)(a) of Bathing Water Regulations, a temporary restriction needs to be applied to prevent exposure of bathers to pollution.”

Meanwhile north of the river Liffey, Dollymount strand has been placed under a temporary swimming ban.

The five kilometre stretch is popular among walkers and swimmers.

During the summer, hundreds of families enjoy it for socialising and swimming.

But recent heavy rainfall led to a storm water overflow at Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant just days ago, contaminating the water at the beach.

The council said they will continue to monitor the water quality at the popular beach and update accordingly.

They explained: “A Temporary Prohibition was erected by Dublin City Council on 03/06/2025 at Dollymount Strand following a stormwater overflow on the 03/06/2025 at Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant due to heavy rainfall.

“The notice was erected in consultation with the Health Service Executive.

“Sampling will take place at Dollymount Strand and the notice will be updated accordingly.”

The water at three designated spots in Dublin is monitored by the city council.

The spots are Sandymount, Dollymount, and Half Moon.

Monitoring is also carried out at non-designated water areas including Merrion Strand, Shelly Banks and North Bull Wall.

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Sandymount is located in south Dublin[/caption]

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THIS is the frantic moment Brit “towel warriors” sprint for the best sunbeds around the pool at a Magaluf hotel – the second it opens.

Desperate holidaymakers queued by the pool at Hotel Sol Barbados for up to an hour before staff opened it and seemingly let all hell break loose.

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Determined Brit holidaymakers were seen descending on the pool area to nab the best sunbeds[/caption]

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Frantic Brits swarmed the seats after waiting an hour for the pool to open[/caption]

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It is the latest chapter of the blazing sun lounger wars which continue to rage on across Brit holiday hotspots.

Aaron Turner, 34, was holidaying in Spain with fiancé Shauna Wall, 32, and their four-year-old daughter Halle when he spotted the bizarre scenes.

The family, from County Meath, Ireland, said sunseekers would wait at one of the three busy pool entrances each day, determined to get the best spots.

Aaron claimed he saw tourists starting to queue from 9am – despite the pool opening at 10am.

Unbelievable footage showed the racing Brits sprint for their lives as they swarmed the pool area to secure the sunniest seats.

Dozens are seen waiting by the entrances, one of which is blocked by just one lone lifeguard.

As he lets them in when the clock strikes 10am – scores of swimmers descend on the sunbeds in a mad panic.

Content creator Aaron said: “The queues would get pretty long.

“Once the barriers opened, all the rules went – people were jumping the queue, and some were properly running.”

Aaron quipped that he had to don running shoes in order to beat the crowds and secure his seat.

Despite the chaos, he was seen appearing to have found a well-placed sunbed.

He added that there were “definitely enough beds” – but that this didn’t stop Brit tourists forming lines to win the best spots.

“I thought it was hilarious, I’ve seen videos of it online before but it was the first time I experienced it myself,” he said.

“We got a good laugh out of it.”

Shauna Wall / SWNS

People waited nearly an hour for the best seats[/caption]

Shauna Wall / SWNS

Scores of Brits scrambled to the seats at the hotel in Magaluf[/caption]

The footage went viral after another similar scramble involving hasty Brits in Magaluf was caught on camera.

A Manchester holidaymaker was left absolutely fuming after vigilantes swiped towels from her sun lounger that she had reserved due to her disability.

Wheelchair user Elaine Simpson, 77, had been given permission from staff to book out the spot, before Brit sunbathers intervened.

She was staying at the Aquasol Aparthotel near Magaluf with her family to mark her 51st wedding anniversary.

Joined by her husband and teenage grandkids for the trip, they were set for a much-needed week’s break in the sun.

But when they arrived, she was put into a hotel room that was five floors up and as far from the pool as they could have been.

Because she suffers from chronic arthritis and is in a wheelchair, this made it a challenge to claim a hotel sunbed at opening time.

She told the Sun: “We could never have made it down for 9am to get a sunbed.

“So we went out to the beach and paid for sunbeds for the whole week.”

Another Brit tourist defended the controversial practice of putting towels on sunbeds amid the blazing row.

Rachel McGuigan and her husband David enjoyed a plush vacation in Turkey, but divided opinion after they put their towels on their poolside beds for half an hour while they went for their morning meal.

She got angry reactions from some holidaymakers.

THE Isle of Man TT is heading to its climax as the world’s top riders race around country lanes at over 130mph!

Dubbed by many as the ‘world’s most dangerous race’, the iconic course has claimed the lives of 270 people since its first edition in 1907.

Last year, Northern Irish legend Michael Dunlop broke the record for most wins on the course and is back for more this time around.

Dunlop broke uncle Joey’s record of 26 last year with FOUR wins out of seven to take his overall tally to an incredible 29.

There was huge drama in the qualifying section with Peter Hickman involved in a major crash.

Hickman is one of the most recognisable faces in the Isle of Man TT and has won 14 races in the last five events.

The BMW rider has since been released from hospital but will not participate in this year’s racing.

Here’s everything you need to know for the week ahead.

What is the Isle of Man TT?

The annual event sees professional and semi-professional riders race around the Isle of Man in a time-trial.

The ‘TT’ in the name stands for Tourist Trophy, rather than time trial.

Anyone from any country can apply to race as long as they have a valid National Entrants or FIM Sponsors Licence for Road Racing, plus a driver’s licence.

Last week was the qualifying section and this week is the racing.

There are six main events – the Senior TT, Supersport TT, Superbike TT, Superstock TT, Supertwin TT and Sidecar TT – with all roads on the island closed between 9am and 5pm and some roads closed for the full week.

The Senior TT is the main attraction and has almost run continuously since 1911.

It was not held due to World War I (1915-19) and World War II (1940-46), then because of foot and mouth disease in 2001, bad weather in 2012 and Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021.

Davey Todd won the race last year.

Isle of Man TT 2025 schedule and results

Race Day 1 – Monday, June 2

• 9am: Mountain Road closed
• 10am: All roads closed
• 12pm: Superbike TT Race – Winner: Davey Todd
• 2pm: Sidecar TT Race 1 – Winners: Ryan & Callum Crowe
• 3.15pm: Supersport TT Race 1 – Winner: Michael Dunlop
• 5pm: Roads re-open

Mountain Road closed overnight from June 2

Race Day 2 – Tuesday, June 3

• 10am: All roads closed
• 11.15am: Course inspection lap
• 1pm: Sidecar shakedown (one lap)

*RACING DELAYED DUE TO WET ROADS*

• 5pm: All roads roads except Mountain Road re-open
• 6pm: All roads closed
• 6.30pm: Superstock TT Race 1 – Winner: Dean Harrison
• 7.45pm: Supertwin TT Race 1 – Winner: Michael Dunlop
• 9.30pm: Roads re-open

Race Day 3 – Wednesday, June 4

• 11am: Mountain Road closed
• 12pm: All roads closed
• 1pm: Supersport TT Race 2 – Winner: Michael Dunlop
• 4.05pm: Solo practice
• 5pm: Roads re-open

Rest Day – Thursday, June 5

• TBC – Contingency

Race Day 4 – Friday, June 6

*RACING DELAYED DUE TO WET ROADS*

• 11am: Mountain Road closed
• 12pm: All roads closed
• 12.45pm: Course inspection lap
• 2pm: Superstock TT Race 2
• 4pm: Sidecar TT Race 2
• 5.30pm: Supertwin TT Race 2
• 9.30pm: Roads re-open

Race Day 5 – Saturday, June 7

• 9am: Mountain Road closed
• 10am: All roads closed
• 10.45am: Senior TT Race
• 9.30pm: Roads re-open

What TV channel is the Isle of Man TT on and is there a live stream?

The 2025 Isle of Man TT will not be broadcast live on any TV.

Instead, race fans will need to purchase TT+ which costs £23.99 for full coverage of every race, plus behind-the-scenes access and in-depth analysis.

TT+ can be live streamed via the website on any compatible device.

Alternatively, ITV4 has nightly highlights every day at 9pm.

What is the prize money for the Isle of Man TT?

The total prize money for the 2025 Isle of Man TT sits at £353,115, which is a large increase from last year.

The prize pots are as follows:

• Senior TT – £88,725
• Superbike TT – £65,100
• Supersport TT per race (2) – £29,820
• Sidecar TT per race (2) – £24,675
• Superstock TT per race (2) – £24,675
• Supertwin TT per race (2) – £20,475

A full breakdown for the 2025 prize money can be found here.

Who has won the most Isle of Man TT races?

Michael Dunlop is the most successful rider at the Isle of Man TT.

He won four races in 2024 to take his overall tally to 29.

The Northern Irishman had been trailing his legendary uncle, Joey, heading into last year’s event – Joey had won 26.

Michael’s four wins in 2024 added to his four wins in 2023.

Dunlop has enjoyed another incredible year, winning three of six races so far to take his overall total to 32.

BANK of Ireland has issued an urgent alert to its customers over a spike in sophisticated scams doing the rounds.

Fraudsters are targeting customers with convincing fake texts and phone calls, tricking them into transferring their money to bogus ‘safe accounts’, in many cases via Revolut.

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Users are being tricked into transferring their money to bogus ‘safe accounts’[/caption]

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Fraudsters are targeting customers with convincing fake texts and phone calls[/caption]

According to Bank of Ireland, over 80 per cent of Irish people have been targeted in a scam over the last year.

Text messages and phone calls are the most common methods used by these criminals.

Customers should be particularly alert for fraudulent texts that attempt to lure them into calling a fake ‘bank’ phoneline.

This is where the account holder is then duped into transferring funds to their secondary account.

Reports of the scam to Bank of Ireland’s fraud line and Text Checker service have been on the increase since the start of the year. 

Daily reports are over 10 times the number of those reported weekly in April and May in this week alone.

The bank wishes to urgently remind customers that Bank of Ireland will never ask you to move your money to another account to keep it safe.

The Bank has seen a tenfold increase in reports of this scam in just 24 hours.

Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland, Nicola Sadlier said: “We have been seeing a concerning pattern in the increase of this type of fraud. 

“This week’s escalation has resulted in the highest number of reports in a single day of this particular type of fraud,

“So we need our customers and the general public to be vigilant and recognise the warning signs. 

“Our main advice is to look out for these texts and do not call back. 

“And remember that Bank of Ireland will never ask you to move your money to another account to keep it safe.”

If any of the points listed above have happened to you there are two main things you can do.

Screen shot the message you suspect to be fraud and send it to 365secuirty@boi.com.

You can also call your trusted numbers, the phone number on the back of your physical card or from the phone contact details in your mobile app.

Meanwhile, a new crackdown is being launched in the war on scam texts in Ireland.

Businesses unregistered with the telecoms regulator will see their mass-texts to customers slapped with “scam likely” warnings from next month in a bid to crack down on phone fraudsters.

More than 7,000 businesses and organisations that send en-masse messages have pre-registered with the The Commission for Communications Regulation, Comreg.

But SMS messages from unregistered companies will be labelled “scam likely”, while scam messages will be blocked completely by October.

GETTY

It’s that time of the year when every gamer around the world unites to get a glimpse of their most anticipated games of the year and beyond, alongside explosive new reveals. You guessed it, the summer gaming season, marked by E3 before its cancellation, has officially kicked off this year with PlayStation’s June State of […]

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