About

Trusted because it's verified

No guesswork, no scraping. Every fact on this site is checked against official sources before it goes live.

Our five verified sources

Every beach page is built from five independent official sources, which must agree before anything is published: the EPA Ireland Bathing Water database (water quality), An Taisce (Blue Flag & Green Coast awards), Ordnance Survey Ireland (location & place names), the relevant county council (facilities, lifeguards, parking, dog rules) and Fáilte Ireland (swim & surf suitability).

The car-park rule

The “Get Directions” button on every beach is a safety feature, not a convenience. Each car-park pin is manually verified on Google Maps satellite view and cross-checked on OSI maps before publication. We never scrape, estimate or assume a location.

How the EPA rates water quality

The EPA monitors 150+ designated bathing waters annually and classifies each as Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor. In 2025, 78% were rated Excellent and 98% met at least the Sufficient standard. Real-time data is published at beaches.ie during the bathing season (1 June – 15 September).

Blue Flag & Green Coast

The Blue Flag is an international award for beaches meeting high standards of water quality, safety, facilities and environmental management. The Green Coast Award recognises clean, naturally beautiful beaches with excellent water quality. Both are administered in Ireland by An Taisce and reviewed every May.

Always check local signage and beaches.ie before swimming, particularly after heavy rainfall. IrishBeaches.ie accepts no liability for conditions at the time of your visit.