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County WexfordBlue Flag

Ballinesker

Ballinesker is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Wexford, 2.2 km east of Curracloe. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy, first aid, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
Yes
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
2.2 km
from Curracloe
Water quality
Excellent, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Excellent, 2023 Excellent, 2022 Excellent
Water testing
Tested by the EPA sampled through the season and given a water quality grade
Season restriction
None in place
Pollution after rain
Not prone to it
Awards
Blue Flag · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Wexford
Managed by
Wexford County Council
Nearest town
Curracloe, 2.2 km east of it, in a straight line
From that town
2.6 km by road, about 3 min drivingor 2.7 km on foot, about 33 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
A beach wheelchair is available. Wooden boardwalk
Dogs
1st June and 15th September: no dogs in blue flag area between lifeguard markers from 11:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs. Dogs on a lead are permitted through the blue flag area to access other beach areas.
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
First aid
Available from Lifeguard hut
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
52.3995° N, 6.3575° W
Record changed
2026-04-30
Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Stand, Ballinesker, east of Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland
Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Stand, Ballinesker, east of Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland·Michal Osmenda, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Stand, Ballinesker, east of Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland·Michal Osmenda, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Stand, Ballinesker, east of Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland
Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Stand, Ballinesker, east of Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland·Michal Osmenda, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ballinesker Beach, Curracloe Stand, Ballinesker, east of Curracloe, Wexford, Ireland·Michal Osmenda, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Ballinesker is a rural peaceful fine-sand beach with a relatively gentle slope. The sand type is soft and windblown and often covers the wooden walkway. Deposition offshore into a series of sand-banks offers protection to the beach. The sand dunes extend approximately 70m to the rear (west) of the beach. There is no significant vegetation growing in the waters off the beach. Ballinesker beach is also a popular fishing spot. The beach is also used by a limited number of surfers, windsurfers and canoeists. The bathing area is approximately 1.0 km long and approximately 0.2 km² in area.

Ballinesker is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Ballinesker has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.

The EPA’s own beach profile

Where it is

Ballinesker, and the other places to swim in County Wexford. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Ballinesker

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About these directions

Public transport times come from National Transport Authority. Timetables cover 2026-09-18 to 2027-09-19. These are scheduled services; check with the operator for cancellations and changes before travelling.

Walking and driving times are estimates. A town search starts at its centre; choose your location or a point on the map for a more precise starting point. Eircode search is not available.

How journey planning works
Destination, access and nearby stops

Ballinesker is in Curracloe, County Wexford. Routes here end at the point the map records for this place. The entrance has not been verified, so the last few metres are for you to judge.

The nearest settlement is Curracloe, 2.2 km east of the beach. The register records parking here. Getting to the town is not getting to the beach, so the journey below is worked out to the beach itself and the last stretch on foot is measured rather than left out.
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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Kilmacoe (14938), 1.0 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Kilmacoe 1.0 km
    buses 872 and 875
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Curracloe 2.2 km
    buses 872 and 875
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Curracloe covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Wexford

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Ballinesker?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Ballinesker is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Ballinesker has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health. A classification is a record of seasons that have finished; it is not a reading of the water today.
Is swimming restricted at Ballinesker?
The register records no season-long restriction. That is about the season, not about today: a short notice after heavy rain would not appear here, and the register says nothing about short term pollution here. Check with Wexford County Council before swimming.
Does Ballinesker have a Blue Flag?
The register records one. It does not record which year's award, and the flag is awarded each season, so it is worth checking the flag is flying when you arrive.
Is there a lifeguard at Ballinesker?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Ballinesker without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Kilmacoe, 1.0 km from the beach in a straight line, and buses 872 and 875 call there, run by Michael Gray Coach Hire. The planner on this page works out the walk from that stop over real footways, and the whole journey from wherever you are starting, for the day and time you pick. Where no footway joins the stop to the beach it says so rather than making a number up.
Where does this come from?
The Environmental Protection Agency's list of places people swim, which it calls the bathing water register, read on 2026-09-20, where this record was last changed on 2026-04-30. Water quality, awards, lifeguards and facilities are the EPA's own fields, and a field it leaves blank is shown as not recorded rather than as a no. The distance to the nearest town is this site's own measurement, in a straight line.

Water quality, awards, lifeguards, toilets, parking and access are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own fields, from its bathing water register, read 2026-09-20. The classification covers four years of sampling and is not a reading for today: after heavy rain the water can be worse than the classification suggests, and the EPA and the local authority post notices when it is. Positions are the EPA’s grid references, projected to latitude and longitude. Journeys are the National Transport Authority’s published timetable.

Beaches and bathing waters in Ireland·Beaches in County Wexford