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County Galway

Trá na mBan, An Spidéal

Trá na mBan, An Spidéal is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Galway, 0.6 km east of Spiddal. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it good for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, first aid and an information board.

Good
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
0.6 km
from Spiddal
Water quality
Good, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Not classified, 2023 Poor, 2022 Poor
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
None
County
County Galway
Managed by
Galway County Council
Nearest town
Spiddal, 0.6 km east of it, in a straight line
From that town
0.6 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.7 km on foot, about 8 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes: 12-6 weekends July Aug during a typical lifeguard season
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
No
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
There is a public bus stop nearby.
First aid
In the lifeguard hut during a typical lifeguard season
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
53.2432° N, 9.2964° W
Record changed
2026-03-05
An Trá Mhór, An Spidéal (Spiddle beach) geograph.org.uk 1270057
An Trá Mhór, An Spidéal (Spiddle beach) geograph.org.uk 1270057·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
An Trá Mhór, An Spidéal (Spiddle beach) geograph.org.uk 1270057·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
An Trá Mhór, An Spidéal (Spiddle beach) geograph.org.uk 1293164
An Trá Mhór, An Spidéal (Spiddle beach) geograph.org.uk 1293164·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
An Trá Mhór, An Spidéal (Spiddle beach) geograph.org.uk 1293164·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Trá na mBan is a popular bathing area consisting of a mixture of rocky foreshore and sandy areas which are covered at high tide. Trá na mBan supports a variety of animals, birds, shellfish and plants. Seals and otters may be spotted off the coast. Activities include swimming, bathing and watersports.

Trá na mBan, An Spidéal is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the periond 2024 to 2025. Trá na mBan, An Spidéal was assigned as changes class in 2024 following the commission of a new wastewater treatment plant in 2023. Trá na mBan, An Spidéal had a Poor Water Quality rating in 2023 and 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

Trá na mBan, An Spidéal, 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 na mBan, An Spidéal

Your journey, your way

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Going toTrá na mBan, An SpidéalDestination: 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 na mBan, An Spidéal is in Spiddal, 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 Spiddal, 0.6 km 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.
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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is An Spidéal (534901), 670 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • An Spidéal 670 m
    buses 424 and 525
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Spiddal covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Galway

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Trá na mBan, An Spidéal?
The EPA classified it Good for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Trá na mBan, An Spidéal is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the periond 2024 to 2025. Trá na mBan, An Spidéal was assigned as changes class in 2024 following the commission of a new wastewater treatment plant in 2023. Trá na mBan, An Spidéal had a Poor Water Quality rating in 2023 and 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 Trá na mBan, An Spidéal?
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 na mBan, An Spidéal 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 Trá na mBan, An Spidéal?
The register records one, 12-6 weekends July Aug during a typical lifeguard season. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Trá na mBan, An Spidéal without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is An Spidéal, 670 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses 424 and 525 call there, run by Bus Éireann and Island Ferries Teoranta. 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