Dublin’s noisiest locations: From a picturesque D4 road to a busy M50 junction

Local authority live volume data show parts of the capital where noise levels are at their highest

Mon Nov 02 2026 - 06:00 • 2 MIN READ

Sandymount’s Strand Road has been found to be the noisiest place in Dublin city.

Other particularly noisy areas across Dublin county include Carysfort Avenue in Blackrock, a recycling centre in Ballyogan and a traffic interchange in Lucan.

The snapshot data comes from a network of real-time noise monitors installed by three of Dublin’s four local authorities, as well as at Dublin Airport.

Strand Road, a picturesque coastal strip of homes on Dublin’s southside overlooking the capital’s famous chimney stacks, was found to rival the M50 motorway and Dublin Airport with volume levels recorded on a random Tuesday afternoon in October.

The monitoring shows the noisiest location at midday was close to the junction of Dodsborough Road and the N4 Lucan bypass, where an hourly average of 74.2 decibels was recorded. That was down from a peak of 78.75 at 9.05am.

According to the Health Service Executive, noise levels at or below an hourly average of 70 decibels are generally considered safe and do not pose a risk of long-term hearing damage. In industry terms, when they are above an hourly average of 85 decibels, companies must identify the reasons for excess noise and put measures in place to reduce it.

In Dublin City Council’s administrative area, Strand Road was the noisiest recorded area with an hourly average of 70.3 decibels. A spike of 75.2 decibels was observed shortly before 1pm at Chancery Park, a city centre green area close to the Luas line and busy quays.

In the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area, the council’s recycling centre at Ballyogan Road was the noisiest place with an hourly average of 70.1 decibels. A noise monitoring station at Carysfort Avenue, in Blackrock, showed consistent hourly averages in the late 60s decibels.

At Dublin Airport, monitoring overseen by Fingal County Council’s Aircraft Noise Competent Authority showed levels around Kilcoscan National School, in proximity to the airport’s north runway, fluctuating between 50 and about 72 decibels, depending on flight movements.

Noise maps covering parts of the Greater Dublin Area, which includes the four Dublin local authorities with Wicklow and Kildare county councils, are made in response to the EU noise directive. The data is available online via the local authorities.

Fingal, Wicklow and Kildare County Councils have not established real-time noise monitoring stations.

Separate noise maps examining decibel levels from roads, railways and airports are prepared every five years for the Environmental Protection Agency.

These have previously identified “undesirable sound levels” exceeding 75 decibels – which may damage hearing over time – on the M50 and many of its main approach roads.

Noise levels in the vicinity of the airport tended to be lower, at between 55 and 59 decibels, but this earlier data predated the opening of the second runway.

Daily average noise levels, which are usually reduced by night-time quiet periods, above 55 decibels are required to be reported to the European Commission.

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