County DublinBlue Flag

Killiney

Killiney is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Dublin, 0.8 km south of Killiney. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, a lifebuoy, first aid, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

0.8 km

from Killiney

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 Dublin
Managed by: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council
Nearest town: Killiney, 0.8 km south of it, in a straight line
From that town: 1.2 km by road, about 3 min drivingor 1 km on foot, about 13 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes: Lifeguard on duty during the bathing season.
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: A beach wheelchair is available
Dogs: No person shall allow any animal on the designated Bathing Area from 10am-7pm during the Bathing Season, 1st June to 15th September. This shall not apply to guide dogs for the blind.At all other times dogs are required to be on a leash.Outside of the Designated Bathing Area dogs are permitted off leash at all times all year round and must be under effectual control.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: Available from lifeguard hut when lifeguard is on duty
Position: 53.2572° N, 6.1114° W
Record changed: 2026-03-25

Killiney Beach (Ireland)·William Murphy, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Killiney Beach (Ireland)·William Murphy, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Killiney Beach is a long stony beach with stunning views of Bray Head, Dalkey Island and Sorrento Terrace. There is an exclusion zone for motorized craft for 300m from the foreshore and this is marked by lighted buoys. Swimmers should be aware that there may be sudden large waves caused by the car ferries. Fishing is not permitted within the bathing area. Activities include swimming. <span style="color: #33322d; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; word-spacing: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-color: initial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial;">. </span>

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

Killiney, 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 Killiney

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 Killiney, 0.8 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.

Get directions

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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Killiney (999135), 210 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Killiney 210 m
train DART
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Victoria Road 890 m
bus 59
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ballybrack Village 1.0 km
buses 45A, 45B and 7E
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ballybrack Cross 1.0 km
buses 45A, 45B, 7n, 7B and 7E
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Wyattville Road 1.0 km
buses 45A and 45B
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Other places to swim in County Dublin

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Killiney?

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

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 Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council before swimming.

Does Killiney 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 Killiney?

The register records one, Lifeguard on duty during the bathing season.. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Killiney without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Killiney, 210 metres from the beach in a straight line, and train DART call there, run by Iarnród Éireann / Irish Rail. 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 2026-03-25. 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 Dublin