County KerryBlue Flag

Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane)

Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Kerry, 2.9 km south-west of Caherdaniel. 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, first aid and an information board.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

2.9 km

from Caherdaniel

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 Kerry
Managed by: Kerry County Council
Nearest town: Caherdaniel, 2.9 km south-west of it, in a straight line
From that town: 3.6 km by road, about 5 min drivingor 3.4 km on foot, about 43 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: Ramp
Dogs: Dogs are not allowed on the Blue-Flag section of the Beach (ie. within the Lifeguard Patrol area) between 11am and 7pm each day from the 1st June to 15th September inclusive.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: Available from Lifeguard hut
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 51.7590° N, 10.1383° W
Record changed: 2026-02-25

Derrynane Beach·dconvertini, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Derrynane Beach·dconvertini, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) is a south westerly facing sandy beach backing onto sand dunes. It is exposed to Atlantic wave action and westerly winds. The beach is backed by a sand-dune system, and beyond this is a mixture of woodland, wetland and un-enclosed upland/rough grazing. Activities include swimming, walking, surfing and windsurfing, canoeing and angling. The identified bathing water is approximately 160m in length, however, it is part of a larger beach which extends from Abbey Island eastwards beyond Derrynane House.

Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) 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

Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane), and the other places to swim in County Kerry. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane)

Going toDoire Fhíonáin (Derrynane)Destination: the mapped location

1 Where are you starting?

Starting town or village

Type at least two letters, then choose a suggestion.

Nearby starting points

2 How would you like to travel?

3 When are you going?

All times are local to Ireland. Scheduled services, without live delay updates.

Journey preferences Transport type and sorting

TransportSort journeys by

Choose a starting point to plan your journey.

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

Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) is in Caherdaniel, County Kerry. 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 Caherdaniel, 2.9 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.

Get directions

Or open it inGoogle Mapsdirections Apple Mapsdirections Wazedriving satnav

Stops near it

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane). On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to Caherdaniel covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Kerry

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane)?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) 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 Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane)?

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 Kerry County Council before swimming.

Does Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) 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 Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane)?

The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane) without a car?

No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Doire Fhíonáin (Derrynane). 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 2026-02-25. 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 Kerry