Gyles' Quay is an isolated stretch of beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

 located 1 km south of the R173

R173 road

The R173 road is a regional road in Ireland, running its full length in County Louth. It loops around Cooley Peninsula, mainly along the coast...

/R175

R175 road

The R175 road is a regional road in Ireland, running its full length on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth. It runs northeast from its junction with the R173 at The Bush to its terminal point at Greenore Port via Rogan's Cross, Saint James' Well; and the Shore Road at Greenore all in the County...

 road in County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It was named after Ross Gyles who build a wood structure there in 1780. It was later rebuilt in stone in 1824 and survives to this day.

The long isolated beach with accessible hinterland made it very attractive to smugglers who used the beach for importing wine and tobacco. In 1823 the authorities constructed a coastguard watch station to limit the illegal imports. Today tourists are drawn to the area for the long beach expanse and the caravan park located overlooking the area.

Transport

Gyles Quay Halt railway station opened on 7 July 1935 and finally closed on 1 January 1952.