The application and validation, with respect to the transformation, breaking and run-up of irregular waves, of an unstructured high-resolution finite volume (FV) numerical solver for the 2D extended Boussinesq-type (BT) equations of Nwogu (1993) is presented. The numerical model is based on the combined FV approximate solution of the BT model and that of the nonlinear shallow water equations (NSWE) when wave breaking emerges. The FV numerical scheme satisfies the desired properties of well-balancing, for flows over complex bathymetries and in presence of wet/dry fronts, and shock-capturing for an intrinsic representation of wave breaking, that is handled as a shock by the NSWE. Several simulations and comparisons with experimental data show that the model is able to simulate wave height variations, mean water level setup, wave run-up, swash zone oscillations and the generation of near-shore currents with satisfactory accuracy.