County MayoBlue Flag

Clare Island, Louisburgh

Clare Island, Louisburgh is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Mayo, 10.3 km north-west of Louisburgh. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

lifeguard

10.3 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 10 days last season
Awards: Blue Flag · the register does not say which year's award
County: County Mayo
Managed by: Mayo County Council
Nearest town: Louisburgh, 10.3 km north-west of it, in a straight line
From that town: No road routeNothing on the map joins the two by road. This beach is on an island, or the way in is not mapped.
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: Ramp leading to beach.
Dogs: Dogs only allowed before 12pm and after 6.30pm during the bathing season (1st June to 15th September) otherwise allowed at all times onto beach.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: Details available on beach notice board.
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 53.8007° N, 9.9525° W
Record changed: 2026-03-31

No openly licensed photograph of Clare Island, Louisburgh was found on Wikimedia Commons. Rather than show a picture of somewhere else, this page shows none.

What the EPA says about it

Clare Island Beach extends from the old pier on the south side of the beach to the stony shoreline on the northern end adjacent to the Community Centre. There are submerged rocks at the northern end of the beach. As the beach is located in the main harbour, there are numerous domestic and commercial dwellings in close proximity to the beach. Clare Island Cliffs cSAC and pNHA ( Site Code 002243) encompasses the sea cliffs of the north west, north, west and south coastline. There are many historical sites located throughout Clare Island. Activities include swimming, sailing, canoeing, scuba-diving/snorkelling and fishing.

Clare Island, Louisburgh is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Clare Island, Louisburgh achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for four consecutive years 2024 to 2022. 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

Clare Island, 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 Clare Island, 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

Clare Island, 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, 10.3 km north-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 Clare Island, 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 Clare Island, Louisburgh?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Clare Island, Louisburgh is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Clare Island, Louisburgh achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for four consecutive years 2024 to 2022. 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 Clare Island, 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 Clare Island, Louisburgh 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 Clare Island, Louisburgh?

No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Clare Island, Louisburgh without a car?

No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Clare Island, 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