Waterford and Cork coast
Back on the sand at Tramore after a swim, and the ring is no longer on your hand
Two things place it: the spot below the promenade where you went in, and the time you came out.
A ring that slipped off on a swim at Tramore can be looked for properly once two things are known: the point on the shore where you entered the sea, and the time. The tide tables for that date then tell a detectorist when that stretch of sand is next uncovered, and for how long.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone on the Waterford and Cork coast with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the strand, the park or the pitch, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
This page runs from Tramore and Dungarvan in County Waterford to Youghal, Clonakilty, Inchydoney and Kinsale in County Cork, and it covers the towns' lawns, club pitches and back gardens too.
Stand where you went into the sea
Go back down to the water's edge where you entered, then turn and face the town. Pick the nearest thing on the promenade you could describe to a stranger, drop a pin there on your phone, and write down when you were in the sea. If the ring went on dry sand or on grass, the pin goes where the towel or bag lay, and anyone with you should look through the pictures they took that hour for your hand.
The towns meet the sea in different ways. Tramore's streets come downhill to its strand. In Youghal one boardwalk links the three beaches with the town centre. In Kinsale the Scilly Walk follows the edge of the water out to Summercove. Tell us which town, and whether you live there or were visiting.
Places we cover on the Waterford and Cork coast
- Tramore
- Tramore Strand, from the promenade to the dunes
- The Back Strand, Tramore
- Guillamene and Newtown Cove
- The Promenade, Tramore
- Dungarvan
- Abbeyside, Dungarvan
- Walton Park, Dungarvan
- Dungarvan Harbour
- The Waterford Greenway at Dungarvan
- Clonea Strand
- Youghal
- Front Strand, Youghal
- Claycastle Beach, Youghal
- Redbarn Beach, Youghal
- The Youghal Eco Boardwalk
- Clonakilty
- Inchydoney East Beach
- Inchydoney West Beach
- Kinsale
- Kinsale Harbour
- The Scilly Walk
- Summercove
- Garrettstown Beach
- Club pitches, school fields and back gardens in these towns
From Tramore's promenade to Kinsale's harbour
Tramore and Dungarvan are in County Waterford. Youghal, Clonakilty and Kinsale are in County Cork.
Tramore Strand and the Promenade
Tramore is built on a hill that slopes down to the strand, with a promenade along the beachfront and a funfair beside the sea. The sand runs a long way east from below the promenade to the dunes at the far end, with the Back Strand behind them, and its long, rolling waves draw people in for water sports. Say how far along from the funfair you were, or how near the dunes.
Guillamene and Newtown Cove
West of the town, the Cliff Road leads to Guillamene and Newtown Cove, two small sheltered coves side by side with deep, clear water. Newtown has a shingle beach and a platform for diving and jumping, and swimmers get in by ladders and a slipway. Say which cove, and which ladder or steps you used.
Clonea Strand, outside Dungarvan
Clonea is a long, wide sandy beach near Dungarvan, a crescent set into the coastline with rocks dotted along it, and part of the Waterford Greenway runs behind the sand. Tell us if you got to the beach by the Greenway, and whether your things lay near the rocks.
Walton Park and Dungarvan Harbour
Walton Park, in Dungarvan, sits at the start of the Waterford Greenway, with views across Dungarvan Bay, a water feature and a children's playground. If a chain or phone went on the grass, mark it against the playground or the water feature, whichever was closer. Something dropped into the harbour from the shore by the park can be looked for too.
Front Strand, Claycastle and Redbarn, Youghal
Front Strand is a sandy beach right beside Youghal town, reached by steps and ramps and popular with residents and visitors for walking. It leads into Claycastle Beach, which is gently sandy with a narrow strip of marsh and dunes behind it, part of Ballyvergan Marsh, and on to Redbarn. Name the steps or ramp that brought you onto the sand, and the point where you turned to walk back.
The Youghal Eco Boardwalk
A hardwood walkway runs from Youghal town centre to Redbarn, linking the three beaches, with seats spaced along it. If keys or a phone went missing on a walk, say which of the three beaches was beside you when you last had them, and which seat you stopped at.
Clonakilty and Inchydoney
Clonakilty is a West Cork town of colourful shop fronts with hand-painted signs. Inchydoney, a small island a short drive away, has an East and a West Beach, with high grassy dunes, rocky cliff faces, several paths between the car park and the sand, and some of the best waves in the country. Say which beach, and which path brought you down.
Kinsale, the Scilly Walk and Garrettstown
Kinsale has a picturesque harbour and narrow streets with galleries and independent shops. From Lower Road, at the edge of the harbour, signs lead to the Scilly Walk, a quiet path beside the water out to Summercove with benches along the way. Beyond the town, Garrettstown is a sandy beach close to the Old Head of Kinsale, where surfers take on the waves and people watch from the shore.
What you can expect from us
Local or just visiting
Whether you live in Dungarvan or drove down to Tramore for the day, one person reads and answers your messages from the first to the last.
Timed to the tide
Your pin and photos reach the detectorist together with the time of the loss, so the visit can be planned for when that sand is out of the water.
Beyond standing depth
A ring that came off where your feet no longer touched the bottom is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Costs, said plainly
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you decide whether to go ahead once you have heard them.
Strand, surf and grass
Sand that goes under at high water, and ground that never does.
The tide on the day
The Marine Institute publishes tide predictions for Dungarvan and Kinsale, and for Dunmore East, the nearest of its points to Tramore. Send the hour it happened, and it can be checked against the tide on that date.
In the waves
Tramore's waves bring people out for water sports, and Garrettstown has its surfers too. If a ring or watch went in the waves, say whether you were standing, swimming or surfing, and whether you were inside or beyond the line where the waves were breaking.
Pitches, lawns and back gardens
A ring can just as easily go missing away from the sea: at training on a GAA or soccer pitch, on a school field, or in the back garden. Draw the ground roughly, with the goalposts, the gate or the shed marked, and the detectorist works from that drawing.
Questions about the Waterford and Cork coast
At Tramore I swam out from below the promenade and came back to shore without my ring.
Tramore Strand is long, so the pin at the spot where you entered the water is what the search is built on. Add the time, what depth of water you were in, and whether the waves were big that day. For tide times, Dunmore East is the Marine Institute prediction point nearest to Tramore.
The car keys slid out of my jacket pocket on a walk from Front Strand to Redbarn.
Walk the boardwalk back first and check every seat you rested on. Then tell us if you stepped off it onto the beach, at which of the three, and by which steps or ramp. Send a picture of the fob or key ring too, so the detectorist knows what to look for.
I played a GAA match on our club pitch in Dungarvan and finished it without my wedding band.
Say which half you played in and your position, and whether it went in a tackle, a catch or while you pulled off gloves at the sideline. Ask the club if the pitch has been mowed since, and draw it with the goals and dugouts marked. The white lines of a pitch make it easy to split into strips for a search.
Our day on Clonea Strand ended with an Oura ring missing.
Clonea is long and wide, so start by placing yourself on it: roughly where on the sand you settled, whether your things sat near the rocks, and whether you swam. Then say when you last know for certain it was on your finger, and every place you went from then on.
A gold chain snapped at the playground in Walton Park, Dungarvan.
The playground and the water feature are the easiest landmarks in Walton Park, so describe where you were in relation to them. Mark anywhere you stood or sat, the paths you took in and out, and whether you went on along the Greenway. Say how long the chain is and whether a pendant hung from it.
My phone went over the wall on the Scilly Walk in Kinsale.
The water beside the Scilly Walk is calm and clear, so say what you could see through the water where the phone went in: seaweed, stones or sand. Drop a pin at that point on the path, and give the time it fell so it can be lined up with the Kinsale tide.
Surfing at Garrettstown, my watch strap gave way.
Garrettstown is a sandy beach close to the Old Head of Kinsale, with public car parking at the beach. Say where along the beach you went in, which part of the car park was behind you, and when you last glanced at the watch. A picture of it on your wrist shows the strap and clasp.
We dropped the car keys at Inchydoney, somewhere around the car.
Pin the car park and the spot you parked in, and say whether you changed or packed a bag beside the car or carried the keys down to the beach. If you drove into Clonakilty afterwards, list each place you stopped, so the town is ruled in or out before a search on the island.
Waterford and Cork coast
The town, the hour, a pin
Tramore, Dungarvan, Youghal, Clonakilty, Inchydoney or Kinsale.
Send us a WhatsApp message with the town, the time and a pin, even an approximate one. If the tide is already coming back in over the spot, say so first.