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County GalwayBlue FlagGreen Coast

Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach)

Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach) is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Galway, 11 km north-west of Doolin. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, bins, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
Yes
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
11 km
from Doolin
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, Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Galway
Managed by
Galway County Council
Nearest town
Doolin, 11 km north-west of it, in a straight line
From that town
No road routeNothing on the map joins the two by road. This beach is on an island, or the way in is not mapped.
Lifeguard
Yes: 12-6 weekends July Aug
Toilets
Yes
Parking
No
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
The register records some
First aid
lifeguard huts during lifeguard season
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
53.0660° N, 9.5192° W
Record changed
2026-03-05
The village bay, Inis Oirr
The village bay, Inis Oirr·Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The village bay, Inis Oirr·Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Harbour on Inisheer in July 1991. Date of photo is approximate.
Harbour on Inisheer in July 1991. Date of photo is approximate.·Ridiculopathy, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
Harbour on Inisheer in July 1991. Date of photo is approximate.·Ridiculopathy, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Inis Oírr is situated 17km off the Galway coast and 9km off the Clare coast. The beach is on the northern coast of the island and is known as Trá Inis Oírr. Traditional farm practices have helped maintain the high ecological status of the island. The birdlife of Inis Oírr is of international importance due to the presence of species listed under Annex 1 of the Birds Directive. Choughs breed on the island. Other protected birds on the island include Little Tern, Artic Tern and Sandwich Tern.

Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach) is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach) 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 Inis Oírr (Main Beach), 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 Inis Oírr (Main Beach)

Your journey, your way

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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 Inis Oírr (Main Beach) is in Doolin, County Clare. 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 Doolin, 11 km north-west 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

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach). On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to Doolin covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Galway

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach)?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach) is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach) 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 Inis Oírr (Main Beach)?
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 Inis Oírr (Main Beach) 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 Inis Oírr (Main Beach)?
The register records one, 12-6 weekends July Aug. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach) without a car?
No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Trá Inis Oírr (Main Beach). 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 2026-03-05. 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