County Sligo

Mullaghmore Beach

Mullaghmore Beach is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Sligo, 0.7 km south of Mullaghmore. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records toilets, parking, bins, a lifebuoy, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Blue Flag

lifeguard

0.7 km

from Mullaghmore

Water quality: Excellent, 2025
Seasons before: 2024 Good, 2023 Sufficient, 2022 Sufficient
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: None
County: County Sligo
Managed by: Sligo County Council
Nearest town: Mullaghmore, 0.7 km south of it, in a straight line
From that town: 0.7 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.9 km on foot, about 11 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: Toilets in the vicinity of the beach
Parking: Yes
Access: A beach wheelchair is available
Dogs: A person in charge of a dog on any of this beach shall keep such dog on a leash of fixed length of less than 2 metres, and otherwise under adequate control from 10am each day, throughout the year. Before 10am dogs must be kept under effective control.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: Local Link bus operates between Sligo to Ballyshannon (route 982) stopping at a number of villages including Mullaghmore.
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 54.4603° N, 8.4487° W
Record changed: 2026-06-04

Beach, Mullaghmore·Rossographer, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Beach, Mullaghmore·Rossographer, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Mullaghmore Beach is a sheltered sandy beach, backed by sand dunes. Mullaghmore beach forms part of the Bunduff Lough and Machair Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The beach consists of sandy dunes which support a wide variety of plant species. There is a wide variety of wildlife and also reefs are located off the coast. Mullaghmore beach forms part of the Bunduff Lough and Machair Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Mullaghmore Sailing Club is nearby and they provide sailing courses during the summer off shore. The bathing area is approximately 300m in length however the beach is approximately 2km in length.

Mullaghmore Beach is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Mullaghmore Beach achieved a Good Water Quality rating in 2024 and Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2023 and 2022. 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

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

Getting to Mullaghmore Beach

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

Mullaghmore Beach is in Mullaghmore, County Sligo. 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 Mullaghmore, 0.7 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 Mullaghmore (10770), 470 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Mullaghmore 470 m
bus 982
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Mullaghmore covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Sligo

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Mullaghmore Beach?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Mullaghmore Beach is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Mullaghmore Beach achieved a Good Water Quality rating in 2024 and Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2023 and 2022. 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 Mullaghmore 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 Sligo County Council before swimming.

Does Mullaghmore 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 Mullaghmore Beach?

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

How do you get to Mullaghmore Beach without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Mullaghmore, 470 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 982 call there, run by TFI Local Link Donegal Sligo Leitrim. 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 2026-06-04. 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 Sligo