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County LouthBlue Flag

Clogherhead

Clogherhead is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Louth, 0.7 km south-east of Clogherhead. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, recycling, first aid, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
Yes
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
0.7 km
from Clogherhead
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
Blue Flag · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Louth
Managed by
Louth County Council
Nearest town
Clogherhead, 0.7 km south-east of it, in a straight line
From that town
1.5 km by road, about 5 min drivingor 1.1 km on foot, about 13 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
A beach wheelchair is available
Dogs
During the bathing season dogs are prohibited from the beach between 11am and 6pm
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
Public bus
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
53.7856° N, 6.2346° W
Record changed
2026-03-06
Clogherhead Coast
Clogherhead Coast·LughaidhSoBased, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Clogherhead Coast·LughaidhSoBased, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Remains of Coast Watch Service in Clogherhead
Remains of Coast Watch Service in Clogherhead·LughaidhSoBased, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Remains of Coast Watch Service in Clogherhead·LughaidhSoBased, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Clogherhead beach is a large open sandy beach that is gently sloping facing mainly to the east. There is an area of dunes and an area of rocks to the north. There are two small rip currents at the north end of the beach. There are areas of sand dunes and rocks. There are a variety of marine wildlife including crabs, jellyfish, sea beet and limpets. The Foreshore Byelaws 2003 are in existence to exclude motorized vehicles from the beach. The average daily visitor numbers to this beach estimated during the bathing season is 200. The bathing area is approximately 1430m in length. The beach at the bathing area is gently sloping into the sea.

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

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

Getting to Clogherhead

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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 Clogherhead, 0.7 km south-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 Clogherhead (108681), 730 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Clogherhead 730 m
    bus 168
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Ard na Mara 1.2 km
    bus 168
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Dales 1.9 km
    bus 168
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Other places to swim in County Louth

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Clogherhead?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Clogherhead is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Clogherhead 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 Clogherhead?
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 Louth County Council before swimming.
Does Clogherhead 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 Clogherhead?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Clogherhead without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Clogherhead, 730 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 168 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 2026-03-06. 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 Louth