County MayoGreen Coast

Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue

Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Mayo, 1 km south of Kilgalligan. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records parking and a lifebuoy.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Blue Flag

lifeguard

1 km

from Kilgalligan

Water quality: Excellent, 2025
Seasons before: 2024 Excellent, 2023 Excellent, 2022 Excellent
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: Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County: County Mayo
Managed by: Mayo County Council
Nearest town: Kilgalligan, 1 km south of it, in a straight line
From that town: 1.2 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 1.2 km on foot, about 16 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: No
Parking: Yes
Access: No
Dogs: Dogs only allowed before 12pm and after 6.30pm during the bathing season 1st June to 15th September otherwise allowed at all times onto beach.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 54.3020° N, 9.8431° W
Record changed: 2026-03-11

The wild coast of north west Mayo·Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The wild coast of north west Mayo·Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Big cliffs at Benwee Head·Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Big cliffs at Benwee Head·Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Rinroe is a fine sandy beach backing onto sand dunes. The environs of Benwee Head, with its cliffs, arches, stacks and islands, offers some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Ireland. Rinroe beach is located within an area that is immersed in Irish history, culture and folklore. Swimming is the most common activity. The bathing area is approximately 300m wide. The bathing water is approximately 180km² in area. This beach is a designated bathing area. The medium and maximum water depth within the designated bathing water is 0.5m and 5.0m respectively depending on tides.

Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue has achieved an Excellent 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

Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue, 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 Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue

Going toRinroe Beach, CarrowtigueDestination: the mapped location

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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

Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue is in Kilgalligan, 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 Kilgalligan, 1 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.

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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Cill Ghallagáin (13928), 900 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Cill Ghallagáin 900 m
bus 499
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Kilgalligan 1.6 km
bus 945
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ceathrú Thaidhg 2.3 km
bus 499
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Kilgalligan covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Mayo

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue has achieved an Excellent 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 Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue?

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 Mayo County Council before swimming.

Does Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue 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 Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue?

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

How do you get to Rinroe Beach, Carrowtigue without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Cill Ghallagáin, 900 metres 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 2026-03-11. 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