Skip to content
County Donegal

Portnablagh

Portnablagh is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Donegal, 0.4 km north-east of Portnablagh. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it good for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records parking, bins and an information board.

Good
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
0.4 km
from Portnablagh
Water quality
Good, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Good, 2023 Good, 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
None
County
County Donegal
Managed by
Donegal County Council
Nearest town
Portnablagh, 0.4 km north-east of it, in a straight line
From that town
0.6 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.6 km on foot, about 7 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
The register records some
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
55.1810° N, 7.9272° W
Record changed
2026-04-10
Portnablagh Everything in the foreground is in the square. In the distance is Portnablagh village and the pier.
Portnablagh Everything in the foreground is in the square. In the distance is Portnablagh village and the pier.·Kieran Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Portnablagh Everything in the foreground is in the square. In the distance is Portnablagh village and the pier.·Kieran Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Drone photo of Sessiagh Lake which has a Crannog
Drone photo of Sessiagh Lake which has a Crannog·Donegal Paddy, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Drone photo of Sessiagh Lake which has a Crannog·Donegal Paddy, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Portnablagh beach consists of a small sandy beach; confined by Portnablagh pier to the North and a small headland to the South. Portnablagh beach supports a variety of wildlife including birds and shellfish. The site is part of a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the E.U. Birds Directive, of special conservation interest. This is because of rare bird species present. Activities at Portnablagh beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, windsurfing, sailing, surfing, power boating, jet skiing, diving and other land based activities on the beach. The beach is located beside the small working pier and slipway. There is a very deep gradient off Portnablagh Beach with the water depth reaching 1m approx. 10m from the water line and continuing out at a deep slope.

Portnablagh is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Portnablagh achieved a Good 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

Portnablagh, 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 Portnablagh

Your journey, your way

Let’s get you to Portnablagh.

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

Going toPortnablaghDestination: 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

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 Portnablagh, 0.4 km north-east 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 Portnablagh. On-demand services may not be included.

Other places to swim in County Donegal

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Portnablagh?
The EPA classified it Good for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Portnablagh is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Portnablagh achieved a Good 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 Portnablagh?
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 Portnablagh 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 Portnablagh?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Portnablagh without a car?
No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Portnablagh. 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 2026-04-10. 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 Donegal