County ClareBlue Flag

Mountshannon, Lough Derg

Mountshannon, Lough Derg is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Clare, 0.2 km south of Mountshannon. 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

0.2 km

from Mountshannon

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 Clare
Managed by: Clare County Council
Nearest town: Mountshannon, 0.2 km south of it, in a straight line
From that town: 0.3 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.3 km on foot, about 4 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: Footpath to pier
Dogs: Before 11 am and after 6 pm during summer season, otherwise not allowed at all times onto beach during summer season.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: Available at Lifeguard hut
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 52.9293° N, 8.4282° W
Record changed: 2026-03-26

Mountshannon harbour on a grand soft day·Towel401, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mountshannon harbour on a grand soft day·Towel401, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Mountshannon Harbour Area·tower10, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mountshannon Harbour Area·tower10, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Mountshannon is situated around a series of three small piers to the east and adjacent to the main south-facing harbour. On the shore of Lough Derg, Mountshannon is an important area for wildlife in particular birds and fish species. There is an area of swamp vegetation along the shore. There is a slow and gradual deepening of the water and the mean depth overall of the water in Lough Derg has been estimated to be 7.6m. Activities include bathing, boating, angling and wind-surfing.

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

Mountshannon, Lough Derg, 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 Mountshannon, Lough Derg

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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

Mountshannon, Lough Derg is in Mountshannon, County Clare. 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 Mountshannon, 0.2 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 Mountshannon (333361), 290 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Mountshannon 290 m
bus 344
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Cappaduff 930 m
bus 344
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Mountshannon covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Clare

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Mountshannon, Lough Derg?

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

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 Mountshannon, Lough Derg 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 Mountshannon, Lough Derg?

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

How do you get to Mountshannon, Lough Derg without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Mountshannon, 290 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 344 call there, run by TFI Local Link Limerick Clare. 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 2026-03-26. 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