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County MayoGreen Coast

Portacloy Beach

Portacloy Beach is on the EPA's list of places people swim, though not one of the waters it tests in County Mayo, 2.9 km north-east of Carrowteige. The State does not test the water here, so there is no grade. The register records toilets 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.

No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
2.9 km
from Carrowteige
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
Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Mayo
Managed by
Mayo County Council
Nearest town
Carrowteige, 2.9 km north-east of it, in a straight line
From that town
3.3 km by road, about 6 min drivingor 3.3 km on foot, about 41 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
Yes
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
54.3318° N, 9.7831° W
Record changed
2021-06-28

No openly licensed photograph of Portacloy Beach was found on Wikimedia Commons. Rather than show a picture of somewhere else, this page shows none.

What the EPA says about it

Portacloy Beach is a beautiful sheltered sandy beach, located close to Carrowteige in North Mayo. This beach forms part of the Glenamoy Bog Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Where it is

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

Getting to Portacloy Beach

Your journey, your way

Let’s get you to Portacloy Beach.

Choose where you are starting. We’ll work out the rest.

Going toPortacloy BeachDestination: the mapped location
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3 When are you going?

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

Portacloy Beach is in Carrowteige, County Mayo. 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 Carrowteige, 2.9 km north-east 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

The nearest scheduled stop is Port an Chlóidh (14626), 1.8 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Port an Chlóidh 1.8 km
    bus 499
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Carrowteige covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Mayo

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Portacloy Beach?
Portacloy 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 Portacloy Beach?
The register leaves this blank for Portacloy Beach, which it does for the 89 waters it does not monitor. A blank is not a no. Check with Mayo County Council.
Does Portacloy Beach have a Blue Flag?
No Blue Flag, but the register records a Green Coast award, which recognises clean water and an unspoilt shore rather than facilities.
Is there a lifeguard at Portacloy Beach?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Portacloy Beach without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Port an Chlóidh, 1.8 km from the beach in a straight line, and bus 499 call there, run by McGrath Coaches. 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 2021-06-28. 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 Mayo