County GalwayBlue Flag

Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua

Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Galway, 2.7 km south-west of Carraroe. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

2.7 km

from Carraroe

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: Blue Flag · the register does not say which year's award
County: County Galway
Managed by: Galway County Council
Nearest town: Carraroe, 2.7 km south-west of it, in a straight line
From that town: 3 km by road, about 5 min drivingor 3 km on foot, about 38 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes: 12-6 7 days July & Aug weekend June/Sept
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: No
Dogs: No dogs allowed on designated blue flag beaches during lifeguard hours. Dogs allowed on a lead at all other times.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: lifeguard huts during lifeguard season
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 53.2469° N, 9.6297° W
Record changed: 2026-03-05

Maerl Fragments, Coral Beach (Trá an Dóilín), Carraroe, County Galway, Ireland·Emkaer, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Maerl Fragments, Coral Beach (Trá an Dóilín), Carraroe, County Galway, Ireland·Emkaer, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Coral Beach (Trá an Dóilín), Carraroe, County Galway, Ireland·Emkaer, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Coral Beach (Trá an Dóilín), Carraroe, County Galway, Ireland·Emkaer, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Trá an Dóilín is an unusual beach formed from a plethora of dead fragments of "maerl", a twig-like calcareous seaweed. This type of beach material is washed up at only a few locations in Ireland. It is an exposed beach which is subject to very strong wave action at times. The bathing area comprises a number of different habitats in close proximity to the beach including rocky outcrops, rock pools, off shore reefs and a fresh water lagoon. These different habitats support a variety of different plant, animal and bird species. It is a popular beach for snorkelling and diving.

Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua 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

Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua, and the other places to swim in County Galway. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua

Going toTrá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú RuaDestination: 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

Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua is in Carraroe, County Galway. 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 Carraroe, 2.7 km south-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.

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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Bun an Charnáin (533581), 2.0 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Bun an Charnáin 2.0 km
bus 424
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Getting to Carraroe covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Galway

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua 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 Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua?

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 Galway County Council before swimming.

Does Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua have a Blue Flag?

The register records one. It does not record which year's award, and the flag is awarded each season, so it is worth checking the flag is flying when you arrive.

Is there a lifeguard at Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua?

The register records one, 12-6 7 days July & Aug weekend June/Sept. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Trá an Dóilín, An Ceathrú Rua without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Bun an Charnáin, 2.0 km from the beach in a straight line, and bus 424 call there, run by Bus Éireann. 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 2026-03-05. 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 Galway