County Monaghan

Lough Major - the beach

Lough Major - the beach is on the EPA's list of places people swim, though not one of the waters it tests in County Monaghan, 0.6 km east of Ballybay. The State does not test the water here, so there is no grade. The register records toilets, parking and a lifebuoy. It leaves 2 of the questions on this page unanswered, and those are shown as not recorded rather than as a no.

Blue Flag

lifeguard

0.6 km

from Ballybay

Water quality: Not monitored for a classification
Water testing: Not tested by the EPA on its list, but not sampled for a grade
Season restriction: Not recorded
Pollution after rain: Not recorded
Awards: None
County: County Monaghan
Managed by: Monaghan County Council
Nearest town: Ballybay, 0.6 km east of it, in a straight line
From that town: 1.1 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 0.7 km on foot, about 9 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: No
Dogs: No
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
Position: 54.1294° N, 6.8944° W
Record changed: 2025-03-31

Lough Major, Ballybay·Kenneth Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lough Major, Ballybay·Kenneth Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The R183 at its junction with Wylie's Hill, Ballybay·Eric Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The R183 at its junction with Wylie's Hill, Ballybay·Eric Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

50-70m man-made sand beach

Where it is

Lough Major - the beach, and the other places to swim in County Monaghan. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Lough Major - the beach

Going toLough Major - the beachDestination: the mapped location

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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

Lough Major - the beach is in Ballybay, County Monaghan. 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 Ballybay, 0.6 km 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 Wylie's Hill (10187), 160 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Wylie's Hill 160 m
bus MN2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ballybay N 550 m
buses MN2 and CB1
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ballybay 560 m
bus MN2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
O'Duffy Terrace 860 m
bus MN2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Ballybay covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Monaghan

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Lough Major - the beach?

Lough Major - the beach is on the EPA's list but is not one of the waters it tests, so the State works out no grade for it and none exists. Nothing here says the water is clean or dirty, because nobody has published either.

Is swimming restricted at Lough Major - the beach?

The register leaves this blank for Lough Major - the beach, which it does for the 89 waters it does not monitor. A blank is not a no. Check with Monaghan County Council.

Does Lough Major - the beach 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 Lough Major - the beach?

No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Lough Major - the beach without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Wylie's Hill, 160 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus MN2 call there, run by TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan. 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 2025-03-31. 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 Monaghan