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County MayoGreen Coast

Carrowniskey, Louisburgh

Carrowniskey, Louisburgh is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Mayo, 6.4 km south-west of Louisburgh. 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 and first aid.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
6.4 km
from Louisburgh
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 19 days last season
Awards
Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Mayo
Managed by
Mayo County Council
Nearest town
Louisburgh, 6.4 km south-west of it, in a straight line
From that town
7.3 km by road, about 11 min driving
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
No
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
First aid
Available at Lifeguard Station
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
53.7353° N, 9.8940° W
Record changed
2026-03-31
Life's a beach! The lifeguards here on Carrownisky Strand were on duty until late in the afternoon on a rather iffy day. There were very few people around and nobody in the water!
Life's a beach! The lifeguards here on Carrownisky Strand were on duty until late in the afternoon on a rather iffy day. There were very few people around and nobody in the water!·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Life's a beach! The lifeguards here on Carrownisky Strand were on duty until late in the afternoon on a rather iffy day. There were very few people around and nobody in the water!·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Caher and Inishturk geograph.org.uk 1400397
Caher and Inishturk geograph.org.uk 1400397·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Caher and Inishturk geograph.org.uk 1400397·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Carrowniskey Beach is a large sandy, gradually sloping beach open to the west. Carrowniskey Beach is an exposed beach and can be subject to rip tides/strong currents. There are a number of different habitats including sand hills and an area of machair, three lagoon type lakes and their associated riverine channels. The Lagoon habitat is of extreme ecological importance. Carrowniskey Beach forms part of the Lough Cahasy, Lough Baun and Roonah Lough Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) and proposed National Heritage Area (pNHA) (Site Code 001529). The bathing water is approximately 0.8km2 in area however the beach extends approximately 1.7km. The medium and maximum water depth within the designated bathing water is 0.5m and 5.0m respectively depending on tides.

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

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

Getting to Carrowniskey, Louisburgh

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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

Carrowniskey, Louisburgh is in Louisburgh, County Mayo. 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 Louisburgh, 6.4 km south-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

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Carrowniskey, Louisburgh. On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to Louisburgh covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Mayo

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Carrowniskey, Louisburgh?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Carrowniskey, Louisburgh is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Carrowniskey, Louisburgh 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 Carrowniskey, Louisburgh?
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 Mayo County Council before swimming.
Does Carrowniskey, Louisburgh 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 Carrowniskey, Louisburgh?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Carrowniskey, Louisburgh without a car?
No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Carrowniskey, Louisburgh. That is what the published timetable holds rather than a statement that nothing goes near: services that run on demand, and routes that file no schedule, are not in the feed at all.
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 Mayo