Skip to content
County DonegalGreen Coast

Portarthur, Derrybeg

Portarthur, Derrybeg is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Donegal, 1.7 km west of An Charraig. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records parking, bins and an information board.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
1.7 km
from An Charraig
Water quality
Excellent, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Excellent, 2023 Excellent, 2022 Good
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, closed 10 days last season
Awards
Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Donegal
Managed by
Donegal County Council
Nearest town
An Charraig, 1.7 km west of it, in a straight line
From that town
1.8 km by road, about 6 min drivingor 1.8 km on foot, about 23 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
No
Parking
Yes
Access
Recorded as accessible, with no detail given
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
55.1000° N, 8.3147° W
Record changed
2026-06-19
Derrybeg Gola Island from pier on Gweedore Bay geograph.org.uk 1178446
Derrybeg Gola Island from pier on Gweedore Bay geograph.org.uk 1178446·Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Derrybeg Gola Island from pier on Gweedore Bay geograph.org.uk 1178446·Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Derrybeg - Pier on Gweedore Bay Shown across Gweedore Bay looking west is Gola Island. Looks like high tide and wind driven choppy water.
Derrybeg - Pier on Gweedore Bay Shown across Gweedore Bay looking west is Gola Island. Looks like high tide and wind driven choppy water.·Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Derrybeg - Pier on Gweedore Bay Shown across Gweedore Bay looking west is Gola Island. Looks like high tide and wind driven choppy water.·Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Portarthur beach is a north facing, long sandy beach; confined by a rocky outcrop east of Inishmeane Island to the North and a small estuary to the south. Fixed dunes are frequent throughout the site. They support a wide variety of plant species including some rare plant forms. There are also a wide range of bird species. Portarthur is situated in a Gaeltacht area with a variety of islands off the coast. Activities at Portarthur beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, sailing, power boating, jet skiing, diving and other land based activities on the beach. The designated bathing area is approx. 0.225km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 1070m. There is a deep gradient off Portarthur Beach with the water depth reaching 1m approx. 10m from the water line and continuing out at a deep slope.

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

Portarthur, Derrybeg, and the other places to swim in County Donegal. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Portarthur, Derrybeg

Your journey, your way

Let’s get you to Portarthur, Derrybeg.

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

Going toPortarthur, DerrybegDestination: the mapped location
1 Where are you starting?

Type at least two letters, then choose a suggestion.

Nearby starting points
2 How would you like to travel?
3 When are you going?

All times are local to Ireland. Scheduled services, without live delay updates.

Journey preferences Transport type and sorting

Choose a starting point to plan your journey.

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

Portarthur, Derrybeg is in An Charraig, County Donegal. 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 An Charraig, 1.7 km west 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
Or open it inGoogle MapsdirectionsApple MapsdirectionsWazedriving satnav
Stops near it

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Portarthur, Derrybeg. On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to An Charraig covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Donegal

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Portarthur, Derrybeg?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Portarthur, Derrybeg is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Portarthur, Derrybeg achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating in 2023 and 2024 and a Good Water Quality rating in 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 Portarthur, Derrybeg?
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 Donegal County Council before swimming.
Does Portarthur, Derrybeg 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 Portarthur, Derrybeg?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Portarthur, Derrybeg without a car?
No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Portarthur, Derrybeg. 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 2026-06-19. 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 Donegal