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County Clare

Lahinch

Lahinch is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Clare, 0.3 km north-west of Lahinch. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it good 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.

Good
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
0.3 km
from Lahinch
Water quality
Good, 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 29 days last season
Awards
None
County
County Clare
Managed by
Clare County Council
Nearest town
Lahinch, 0.3 km north-west of it, in a straight line
From that town
0.3 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.4 km on foot, about 4 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
A beach wheelchair is available. Steep ramp leads onto beach
Dogs
Before 11 am and after 6 pm during summer season, otherwise not allowed at all times onto beach during summer.
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
The register records some
First aid
Available at Lifeguard hut
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
52.9335° N, 9.3498° W
Record changed
2026-04-09
The beach at Lahinch, Co. Clare
The beach at Lahinch, Co. Clare·nick macneill, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The beach at Lahinch, Co. Clare·nick macneill, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Photograph taken between 1896 and 1914 Format: glass negative Part of: National Library of Ireland Collection Reference number: L_ROY_11333
Photograph taken between 1896 and 1914 Format: glass negative Part of: National Library of Ireland Collection Reference number: L_ROY_11333·National Library of Ireland on The Commons, no restrictions via Wikimedia Commons
Photograph taken between 1896 and 1914 Format: glass negative Part of: National Library of Ireland Collection Reference number: L_ROY_11333·National Library of Ireland on The Commons, no restrictions via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Lahinch is a sandy beach, subject to strong waves and strong currents. There is a defence barrier consisting of large boulders to prevent coastal erosion. Below the rocky defence barrier the bathing area is sandy with the absence of vegetation. Activities include surfing, kite surfing, wind surfing, horse riding and angling. The use of personal watercraft and fast power craft is prohibited. Beach bye-laws are in place with horse riding and dogs prohibited between 11am and 6pm during the summer season.

Lahinch is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Lahinch has achieved a Good Water Quality reating for 2025 and an Excellent Water Quality rating for the years 2022 to 2024. 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

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

Getting to Lahinch

Your journey, your way

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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 Lahinch, 0.3 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

The nearest scheduled stop is Lahinch (350961), 330 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Lahinch 330 m
    buses 350, 333 and BC1
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Carrowgar 1.9 km
    bus 333
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Other places to swim in County Clare

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Lahinch?
The EPA classified it Good for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Lahinch is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Lahinch has achieved a Good Water Quality reating for 2025 and an Excellent Water Quality rating for the years 2022 to 2024. 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 Lahinch?
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 Clare County Council before swimming.
Does Lahinch have a Blue Flag?
No. A beach without one can still have excellent water: the Blue Flag also asks for facilities, lifeguards and information boards, which a quiet strand may not have.
Is there a lifeguard at Lahinch?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Lahinch without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Lahinch, 330 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses 350, 333 and BC1 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 2026-04-09. 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 Clare