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County KerryBlue Flag

Ballybunnion North

Ballybunnion North is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Kerry, 0.7 km west of Ballybunion. 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
0.7 km
from Ballybunion
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
Prone to short term pollution, closed 17 days last season
Awards
Blue Flag · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Kerry
Managed by
Kerry County Council
Nearest town
Ballybunion, 0.7 km west of it, in a straight line
From that town
1.1 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 1 km on foot, about 12 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
A beach wheelchair is available. Ramp
Dogs
Dogs are not allowed on the Blue-Flag section of the Beach (ie. within the Lifeguard Patrol area) between 11am and 7pm each day from the 1st June to 15th September inclusive.
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
First aid
Available from Lifeguard hut
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
52.5135° N, 9.6794° W
Record changed
2026-03-31
Tilted layers of limestone and mudstone, of Carboniferous age, on the beach at Ballybunion in Ireland.
Tilted layers of limestone and mudstone, of Carboniferous age, on the beach at Ballybunion in Ireland.·Graeme Churchard (GOC53) https://www.flickr.com/people/graeme/, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Tilted layers of limestone and mudstone, of Carboniferous age, on the beach at Ballybunion in Ireland.·Graeme Churchard (GOC53) https://www.flickr.com/people/graeme/, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
IB1 rescue boat on the beach in Ballybunion
IB1 rescue boat on the beach in Ballybunion·Omarfitzell, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
IB1 rescue boat on the beach in Ballybunion·Omarfitzell, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Ballybunnion North is an exposed sandy beach facing due west onto the Atlantic ocean, thus the beach can be rough at times. There is no vegetation of note as the rear of the beach is comprised of a concrete promenade which runs along the entire length of the bathing water. There is no significant vegetation growing in the waters off the beach. The bathing water of Ballybunnion North is located within the Lower River Shannon, site code SAC 002165. Activities include swimming, walking, angling and surfing. The bathing area is approximately 250 m wide.

Ballybunnion North is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Ballybunnion North 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

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

Getting to Ballybunnion North

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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

Ballybunnion North is in Ballybunion, County Kerry. 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 Ballybunion, 0.7 km west 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 Ballybunnion (345721), 700 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Ballybunnion 700 m
    buses 272 and 314
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • The Scallops 730 m
    bus 274
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Ballybunion covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Kerry

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Ballybunnion North?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Ballybunnion North is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Ballybunnion North 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 Ballybunnion North?
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 this water is recorded as prone to short term pollution. Check with Kerry County Council before swimming.
Does Ballybunnion North 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 Ballybunnion North?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Ballybunnion North without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Ballybunnion, 700 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses 272 and 314 call there, run by Bus Éireann. 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 2026-03-31. 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 Kerry