County DublinBlue FlagGreen Coast

Donabate, Balcarrick Beach

Donabate, Balcarrick Beach is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Dublin, 1.9 km south of Portraine. 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, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

1.9 km

from Portraine

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 6 days last season
Awards: Blue Flag, Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County: County Dublin
Managed by: Fingal County Council
Nearest town: Portraine, 1.9 km south of it, in a straight line
From that town: 4.1 km by road, about 6 min drivingor 2.2 km on foot, about 27 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes: 11am to 7pm weekends only in June & full time July & August
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: A beach wheelchair is available
Dogs: Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: In Lifeguard Hut when lifeguard on duty
Position: 53.4764° N, 6.1158° W
Record changed: 2026-03-31

Lambay Island as Seen from the Donabate - Portrane Cliff Walk·MyName (Dwellings (talk)Dwellings), CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lambay Island as Seen from the Donabate - Portrane Cliff Walk·MyName (Dwellings (talk)Dwellings), CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Estuary shoreline due south of Donabate, Co. Dublin. geograph.org.uk 631226·Colm O hAonghusa, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Estuary shoreline due south of Donabate, Co. Dublin. geograph.org.uk 631226·Colm O hAonghusa, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Donabate Balcarrick beach is a south-east facing, gently sloping sandy beach consisting of a large sandy dune area.

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

Donabate, Balcarrick Beach, and the other places to swim in County Dublin. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Donabate, Balcarrick Beach

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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

Donabate, Balcarrick Beach is in Portraine, County Dublin. 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 Portraine, 1.9 km south 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 St Ita's Hospital (3739), 1.4 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

St Ita's Hospital 1.4 km
bus 33B
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Portane Avenue 1.9 km
buses 33B, 33T, 33D and 33E
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Portrane Avenue 1.9 km
buses 33B, 33T, 33n and 33D
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Portrane 1.9 km
buses 33B, 33T and 33D
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Seaview 1.9 km
buses 33B, 33T, 33D and 33n among others
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Portraine covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Dublin

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Donabate, Balcarrick Beach?

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

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 Fingal County Council before swimming.

Does Donabate, Balcarrick Beach 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 Donabate, Balcarrick Beach?

The register records one, 11am to 7pm weekends only in June & full time July & August. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Donabate, Balcarrick Beach without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is St Ita's Hospital, 1.4 km from the beach in a straight line, and bus 33B call there, run by Go-Ahead Ireland. 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 2026-03-31. 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 Dublin