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County ClareGreen Coast

Carrigaholt

Carrigaholt is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Clare, 0.6 km north-east of Carrigaholt. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records parking and a lifebuoy.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
0.6 km
from Carrigaholt
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 Clare
Managed by
Clare County Council
Nearest town
Carrigaholt, 0.6 km north-east of it, in a straight line
From that town
0.7 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.7 km on foot, about 8 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
No
Parking
Parking available in village and along road near bathing area.
Access
No
Dogs
No
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
Position
52.6084° N, 9.7061° W
Record changed
2026-03-26
Loop Head Peninsula - Carrigaholt - Harbour - Yellow, Blue & Red Fishing Boat
Loop Head Peninsula - Carrigaholt - Harbour - Yellow, Blue & Red Fishing Boat·Suzanne Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Loop Head Peninsula - Carrigaholt - Harbour - Yellow, Blue & Red Fishing Boat·Suzanne Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Loop Head Peninsula - Carrigaholt - Harbour - Two Boats
Loop Head Peninsula - Carrigaholt - Harbour - Two Boats·Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Loop Head Peninsula - Carrigaholt - Harbour - Two Boats·Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

The Carrigaholt bathing area is located on the west shore of Carrigaholt Bay.

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

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

Getting to Carrigaholt

Your journey, your way

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Going toCarrigaholtDestination: the mapped location
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All times are local to Ireland. Scheduled services, without live delay updates.

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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

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 Carrigaholt, 0.6 km north-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 Carrigaholt (10536), 540 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Carrigaholt 540 m
    bus 339
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Other places to swim in County Clare

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Carrigaholt?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Carrigaholt is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Carrigaholt 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 Carrigaholt?
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 Clare County Council before swimming.
Does Carrigaholt 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 Carrigaholt?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Carrigaholt without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Carrigaholt, 540 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 339 call there, run by TFI Local Link Limerick Clare. 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 2026-03-26. 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 Clare