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County DonegalGreen Coast

Ballyhiernan, Fanad

Ballyhiernan, Fanad is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Donegal, 5.7 km north of Tawny. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records parking, bins and an information board.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
5.7 km
from Tawny
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
Awards
Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Donegal
Managed by
Donegal County Council
Nearest town
Tawny, 5.7 km north of it, in a straight line
From that town
6.1 km by road, about 10 min driving
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
No
Parking
Yes
Access
No
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
55.2498° N, 7.7031° W
Record changed
2026-06-19
Ballyhiernan Bay From the eastern end of the beach near Rinmore.
Ballyhiernan Bay From the eastern end of the beach near Rinmore.·David Baird, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ballyhiernan Bay From the eastern end of the beach near Rinmore.·David Baird, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
View across Ballyhiernan Bay
View across Ballyhiernan Bay·Willie Duffin, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
View across Ballyhiernan Bay·Willie Duffin, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Ballyhiernan beach is a north facing, long sandy beach consisting of sandy dunes. There are three bays on the beach Carrickachurdin Bay, Kinlackagh Bay and Trabane Bay. Ballyhiernan Beach has a wide variety of wildlife including a vast variety of birds and two notable animal species have been spotted on the site, the Common Frog and Irish Hare. Activities include swimming, kayaking, boating, surfing, windsurfing, sailing, power boating, jet skiing, diving and other land based activities on the beach.

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

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

Getting to Ballyhiernan, Fanad

Your journey, your way

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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

Ballyhiernan, Fanad is in Tawny, County Donegal. 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 Tawny, 5.7 km north 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 Baile Láir (12194), 1.9 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Baile Láir 1.9 km
    bus 973
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Tawny covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Donegal

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Ballyhiernan, Fanad?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Ballyhiernan, Fanad is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Ballyhiernan, Fanad 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 Ballyhiernan, Fanad?
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 Donegal County Council before swimming.
Does Ballyhiernan, Fanad have a Blue Flag?
No Blue Flag, but the register records a Green Coast award, which recognises clean water and an unspoilt shore rather than facilities.
Is there a lifeguard at Ballyhiernan, Fanad?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Ballyhiernan, Fanad without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Baile Láir, 1.9 km from the beach in a straight line, and bus 973 call there, run by TFI Local Link Donegal Sligo Leitrim. 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 2026-06-19. 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 Donegal