On-duty lifeguards are a big draw to Fountainstown beach for Eileen Woods from nearby Crosshaven, who brought her two grandsons, Frankie, 9, and Remi, 5, for the day.

“You can never fully trust the water,” she said, keeping a close eye on the boys as they played in the waves.

“Fountainstown is very popular. The beach is long and open, it’s good for children. Angela [the local shop and café owner] has always been here and now there are saunas and food and coffee trucks too, they’ve brought more business here,” she said.

But despite the proliferation of small local businesses by the beach, going there is still essentially a great, free day out — something families value during the long school holidays, Eileen said.

“When the weather’s bad, children will want to go to the cinema or something, it takes more effort to entertain them and its more expensive. This is a lot cheaper.” 

Her granddaughter Laila, 16, said that she usually goes to Fountainstown’s sandy back strand with her friends.

Although she has been loving the heat wave, she said that she also thinks about the impact of global warming and how hot it could be in the near future.

School's out

Gaeilgeoirí Therese Ní Dhuibhir, Clair Uí Mhaoláin, Colette Nic Sitric, and Ailíse Nic An Ultaigh were at the beach after finishing school for the summer.

The four women teach in the gaelscoil in Carrigaline, which has some 600 pupils.

“We just finished today. Everyone left school and came straight to the beach, the students and the teachers,” Therese said.

Her plans for the summer now include sea swimming every day.

Colette already organisers weekly ‘dip and sip’ meetings for the teachers where they go for a swim in Fountainstown then sip tea together afterwards. The women sometimes come for a sauna and swim before school.

Teenage girls came up to the women and spoke in Irish at the beach. They were greeted warmly by the teachers.

“They’re past pupils,” Terese said. “The school is like one big family. Many teachers are past pupils. And many students have gone on to study Irish at third level."

The Irish language has experienced a resurgence in popularity and is now very vibrant, Colette said.

“Irish is cool now,” Therese said.

“When we speak Irish together people come up and ask about it. Adults are interested in learning it again. And the way its taught has improved, it’s much more accessible now.” 

All four women agreed that global warming was a serious concern.

“I usually go to France or Spain or Italy over the summer but I’m not going now,” Therese said.

“It’s 40C in some of Europe now, that’s too hot.” 

Ailíse said that while some people speak about global warming as if it will be a good thing for Ireland bringing more sunshine, it will actually bring a lot more uncertainty. And if the Gulf Stream, which warms Ireland’s climate, were to shift we would be plunged into low temperatures like Newfoundland in Canada, she said.

Reports have found that climate change may be weakening the Gulf Stream, a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean and is crucial to Ireland's climate.

But large deluges of freshwater from climate change-induced flooding could interrupt or collapse the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc) — a large ocean circulation of which the Gulf Stream is a part — potentially plunging Ireland into an ice age with temperatures dropping to below -20C in the future, some researchers predict. 

Couple Megs and Jed Thompson were also enjoying the sunshine in Fountainstown.

“It’s lovely to see whole families at the beach together. And it’s free.

“People can get the bus down, there’s good coffee, there’s food, there’s parking.

“Angela’s shop is great, you can get whatever you want there and there are tables where you can sit and enjoy the views.  It’s life-affirming."

Jed said that the water in Fountainstown today was “gorgeous”. He swims all year round and has noticed an increase in the water temperature of 4C to 5C over the last three weeks.

“It felt like about 16C today,” he said.

Despite enjoying Thursday’s weather the couple said they have major concerns about global warming and climate change.

“It’s not just heat, it brings excessive rain,” Jed said.

From the exam hall to the beach 

Eve O’Sullivan, Amy O’Flynn, Lola Curham and Syrah Kenna were enjoying the beach after just finishing their Leaving Cert exams, some just two days ago.

“It feels weird to be free!” Eve said.

The girls have applied for college courses but are still not sure about what careers to pursue, although Amy is interested in teaching.

They were concerned about global warming.

“I have a friend in France, around Biarritz, where it’s been 40C, that is crazy,” Lola said.

“I feel guilty about the climate sometimes,” Eve said.

However, Martin Curran, who rode his BMW motorbike from his home in Inniscarra to the beach said that he is not concerned about climate change.

“The weather is fantastic. I’m getting out in it as much as I can. Why worry about something that may never happen?” 

Eileen Murphy from Douglas was enjoying a “delicious” toasted sandwich in Angela’s shop and café.

“I wanted to come for a walk on the beach. My sister usually comes but she said it was too hot today. But I actually think it was a lot hotter yesterday. 

“There’s a haze and a breeze here today.” Eileen said that she is considering getting solar panels to cut down on the carbon-emitting fuel in her home.

But she said she tries not to worry about climate change too much.

“If I worried about everything I’d have a nervous breakdown,” she said.

Met Éireann has extended its Status Yellow high temperature warning until Saturday morning at 9am. But heavy rain and potential flooding is also forecast.