![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_MaeMurraySUP31stJuly2025-07.jpg\")
<\/p>\n“We are delighted that permission has been granted to improve access to Tyrella beach”<\/p>\n
A floating wheelchair user is brought onto a beach by Mae Murray Foundation volunteers. <\/p>\n
A Co Down Blue Flag beach is to be opened up for disabled access as the latest all inclusive beach in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council<\/a> has approved designs for an accessible pathway to its award winning beach in Downpatrick.<\/p>\n The path at Tyrella beach will connect to the nearby amenity building allowing people with a physical disability to enjoy the world class sandy shores in comfort for the first time.<\/p>\n READ MORE: NI council looks to use CCTV to tackle ‘appalling’ litter problem<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n READ MORE: Newry hospital group urges council not to make ‘mistake’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service<\/a> Mae Murray Foundation spokesperson said: “We are delighted that permission has been granted to improve access to Tyrella beach.<\/p>\n “From summer 2026, Tyrella Beach, in partnership with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, will become our sixth inclusive beach in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n “This will ensure that people of all ages and abilities have the opportunity to enjoy a day at the beach, something many of us take for granted.”<\/p>\n Mae Murray Foundation volunteers and users with council representatives at the Tyrella beach amenity building. <\/p>\n The Mae Murray foundation facilitates the use of beach equipment such as specially designed buggies or wheelchairs to allow people with disabilities easier access to the beaches, which will also be stored at the amenity centre<\/p>\n There are currently five inclusive beaches in Northern Ireland including, Benone, Cranfield, Groomsport, Portrush and Portstewart managed by the Mae Murray Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tyrella, one of only 16 award winning beaches in Northern Ireland with an iconic Blue Flag, is now set to become the sixth after a previous 2022 plan to develop Newcastle beach fell through due to access issues.<\/p>\n The foundation spokesperson added: “An inclusive beach provides enhanced access, dedicated parking, fully accessible toilets, including a changing places facility, and an equipment loan scheme enabling families and organisations to borrow beach wheelchairs and other mobility aids so they can make the most of their time by the sea.”<\/p>\n NMDDC chairperson, Philip Campbell said: \u201cThe new boardwalk development at Tyrella beach will allow more people to access this fantastic facility.<\/p>\n “The council has invested heavily at Tyrella, which is one of the district\u2019s award-winning beaches and one of our most prized tourism assets. The Blue Flag award recognises the beach\u2019s excellent cleanliness, safety, water quality and environmental management.”<\/p>\n He added: “The continued investment at Tyrella copper fastens the council\u2019s commitment to ensure the beach is all inclusive.<\/p>\n “I am delighted planning approval has been secured for this latest development at one of our most popular visitor facilities.”<\/p>\n Want to see more of the stories you love from Belfast Live? <\/strong>Making us your preferred source on Google<\/a> <\/strong>means you\u2019ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Belfast Live as a preferred source, simply <\/strong>click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“We are delighted that permission has been granted to improve access to Tyrella beach” A floating wheelchair user…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5011],"tags":[88580,42734,5821,5820,1144,285,16,15],"class_list":["post-788385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-northern-ireland","tag-co-down","tag-downpatrick","tag-mourne-and-down-district-council","tag-newry","tag-northern-ireland","tag-politics","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116132248649371090","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_tyrella_1.jpg\")
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