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County Galway

Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna

Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Galway, 0.4 km south-east of Barna. The EPA has published no water quality classification for it. The register records no facilities here. It leaves 2 of the questions on this page unanswered, and those are shown as not recorded rather than as a no.

No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
0.4 km
from Barna
Water quality
No classification published
Water testing
Tested by the EPA sampled through the season and given a water quality grade
Season restriction
Not recorded
Pollution after rain
Not recorded
Awards
None
County
County Galway
Managed by
Galway County Council
Nearest town
Barna, 0.4 km south-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
No
Access
No
Dogs
No
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
Position
53.2503° N, 9.1457° W
Record changed
2026-02-24
Bearna (Barna) The quay in the old part of the town. This quay offers shelter from the south-west winds blowing straight up Galway Bay.
Bearna (Barna) The quay in the old part of the town. This quay offers shelter from the south-west winds blowing straight up Galway Bay.·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bearna (Barna) The quay in the old part of the town. This quay offers shelter from the south-west winds blowing straight up Galway Bay.·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bearna (Barna) geograph.org.uk 1288714
Bearna (Barna) geograph.org.uk 1288714·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bearna (Barna) geograph.org.uk 1288714·Graham Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Trá Saorphort/Freeport (Mags Boreen) Beach is situated close to Bearna village centre, which is located circa 7kms west of Galway City. The beach can be accessed from the R336 coastal roadway, via Mags Boreen. There is a public footpath along the full length of this boreen (along the eastern side) which facilitates pedestrian access to the beach. The beach itself is a sandy, moderately sloping beach which faces southwards across Galway Bay. Freeport beach is a sandy (fine to medium/coarse sand), moderately sloping beach, which grades into an extensive, more gently sloping, white sandy platform which is visible at low tide. There are a couple of subsidiary sandy areas located on the eastern side of the main Freeport beach. The main beach area has a gentle curved shape, approximately 110m wide, bounded to the west and east by granite boulders which extend out to sea.

Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna has been newly identified in 2024 as a beach for monitoring, management and assessment under the requirements of the 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations. Annual water quality assessment has not yet been undertaken.

Where it is

Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna, 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 Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna

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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.

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Destination, access and nearby stops

Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna is in Barna, 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 Barna, 0.4 km south-east 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

The nearest scheduled stop is Bearna (530711), 240 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Bearna 240 m
    buses 424 and 525
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • An Cimín Mór 1.9 km
    buses 411, 412 and 410
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Páirc na Ceapaí 2.0 km
    buses 411, 412 and 410
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Tor Buí 2.2 km
    buses 411, 412 and 410
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Sruthán Thiar 2.2 km
    bus 402
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Barna covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Galway

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna?
The EPA has not published a classification for Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna. That is not the same as saying the water is poor: it means the four years of results a classification needs are not there.
Is swimming restricted at Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna?
The register leaves this blank for Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna, which it does for the 89 waters it does not monitor. A blank is not a no. Check with Galway County Council.
Does Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna 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 Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Trá Saorphort (Bóithrín Mags), Bearna without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Bearna, 240 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 2026-02-24. 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