County Cork

Oileán Chléire

Oileán Chléire is on the EPA's list of places people swim, though not one of the waters it tests in County Cork, 10.3 km south-west of Baltimore. The State does not test the water here, so there is no grade. The register records a lifebuoy and an information board. 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

10.3 km

from Baltimore

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 Cork
Managed by: Cork County Council
Nearest town: Baltimore, 10.3 km south-west of it, in a straight line
From that town: No road routeNothing on the map joins the two by road. This beach is on an island, or the way in is not mapped.
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: No
Parking: No
Access: No
Dogs: Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 51.4347° N, 9.5002° W
Record changed: 2022-02-10

Oileán Cléire North Harbour·GooGawn, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Oileán Cléire North Harbour·GooGawn, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Cape Clear Island - South Harbour·Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cape Clear Island - South Harbour·Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Oileán Chléire (Cape Clear Island) has an enviable location – right on the cusp of the continental shelf. The entrance to Roaringwater Bay is one of the leading dolphin, whale, leatherback turtles, sunfish, and shark sighting locations in Europe. The island has Ireland’s only manned bird observatory, which maintains a daily species log since 1959. Located two minutes’ walk from the ferry beach, the observatory is manned by a resident warden (March to November), and even offers birdwatchers hostel-style accommodation. There are various beaches and piers on Cape Clear suitable for swimming, one such area is Trá Coinlín (Coinlín Beach), South Harbour.

Where it is

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

Getting to Oileán Chléire

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

Oileán Chléire is in Baltimore, County Cork. 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 Baltimore, 10.3 km south-west of the beach. The register records no 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

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Oileán Chléire. On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to Baltimore covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Cork

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Oileán Chléire?

Oileán Chléire 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 Oileán Chléire?

The register leaves this blank for Oileán Chléire, which it does for the 89 waters it does not monitor. A blank is not a no. Check with Cork County Council.

Does Oileán Chléire 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 Oileán Chléire?

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

How do you get to Oileán Chléire without a car?

No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Oileán Chléire. That is what the published timetable holds rather than a statement that nothing goes near: services that run on demand, and routes that file no schedule, are not in the feed at all.

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 2022-02-10. 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 Cork