Bathing water quality in Dublin, Ireland
Dublin has 19 official bathing waters in the EEA dataset for the 2025 season — all coastal. 52.6% were classified Excellent — 25.8 points below the 78.4% across Ireland — and 1 was Poor. 2 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025.
official bathing waters
Excellent in 2025
Poor in 2025
Map of official bathing waters in Dublin
Most consistent Excellent sites
2 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025.
- PORTMARNOCK, VELVET STRAND BEACH 11 seasons
- SEAPOINT 11 seasons
- FORTY FOOT BATHING PLACE 7 seasons
- WHITE ROCK BEACH 7 seasons
- DONABATE, BALCARRICK BEACH 6 seasons
- KILLINEY 6 seasons
- HALF MOON 2 seasons
- RUSH NORTH BEACH 2 seasons
- SKERRIES, SOUTH BEACH 1 season
- SUTTON, BURROW BEACH 1 season
Rated Poor in 2025
For a Poor site the Bathing Water Directive requires management measures, including a bathing prohibition or advice against bathing, so check the authority before visiting.
- DUN LAOGHAIRE BATHS Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (5)
- LOUGHSHINNY BEACH Sufficient → Good
- PORTRANE, THE BROOK BEACH Sufficient → Good
- SANDYMOUNT STRAND Poor → Sufficient
- SKERRIES, SOUTH BEACH Good → Excellent
- SUTTON, BURROW BEACH Good → Excellent
Declined (1)
- BALBRIGGAN, FRONT STRAND BEACH Good → Sufficient
How Dublin rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | 10 | 52.6% | 1 |
| 2024 | 18 | 8 | 44.4% | 1 |
| 2023 | 17 | 6 | 35.3% | 3 |
| 2022 | 17 | 9 | 52.9% | 1 |
| 2021 | 17 | 9 | 52.9% | 1 |
| 2020 | 17 | 8 | 47.1% | 1 |
| 2019 | 17 | 6 | 35.3% | 1 |
| 2018 | 14 | 3 | 21.4% | 2 |
| 2017 | 14 | 3 | 21.4% | 4 |
| 2016 | 13 | 3 | 23.1% | 2 |
| 2015 | 13 | 5 | 38.5% | 2 |
Places with the most bathing waters in Dublin
Each site is matched to its nearest named place (GeoNames, within 8 km in a straight line), so beaches of one resort or lake shore can be compared together. Select a place to show only its sites in the full list.
| Place | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Ros | 3 | 1 (33.3%) | 0 |
| Dalkey | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 |
| Dollymount | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 |
| Dún Laoghaire | 2 | 1 (50%) | 1 |
| Portraine | 2 | 1 (50%) | 0 |
All 19 official bathing waters in Dublin
Grouped by water type, alphabetical within each group. Open a site for its 2015–2025 history, nearby alternatives, weather forecast and the national profile link.
Download all 19 sites as CSV (classes 2015–2025, coordinates, nearest place; EEA data, CC BY 4.0)
Coastal 19 sites · 52.6% Excellent · 1 Poor
- BALBRIGGAN, FRONT STRAND BEACH Sufficient Good → Sufficient since 2024
- CLAREMONT BEACH · Howth Sufficient
- DOLLYMOUNT STRAND Good
- DONABATE, BALCARRICK BEACH · Portraine Excellent Excellent 6 seasons in a row
- DUN LAOGHAIRE BATHS Poor Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons
- FORTY FOOT BATHING PLACE · Dún Laoghaire Excellent Excellent 7 seasons in a row
- HALF MOON · Dollymount Excellent Excellent 2 seasons in a row
- KILLINEY · Loughlinstown Excellent Excellent 6 seasons in a row
- LOUGHSHINNY BEACH · An Ros Good Sufficient → Good since 2024
- PORTMARNOCK, VELVET STRAND BEACH Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- PORTRANE, THE BROOK BEACH · Portraine Good Sufficient → Good since 2024
- RUSH NORTH BEACH · An Ros Excellent Excellent 2 seasons in a row
- RUSH, SOUTH BEACH · An Ros Good
- SANDYCOVE BEACH · Dalkey Good
- SANDYMOUNT STRAND Sufficient Poor → Sufficient since 2024
- SEAPOINT · Monkstown Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- SKERRIES, SOUTH BEACH Excellent Good → Excellent since 2024
- SUTTON, BURROW BEACH Excellent Good → Excellent since 2024
- WHITE ROCK BEACH · Dalkey Excellent Excellent 7 seasons in a row
Compared with other regions in Ireland
| # | Region | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South-West | 30 | 86.7% | 0 |
| 2 | Mid-West | 15 | 86.7% | 0 |
| 3 | West | 33 | 81.8% | 0 |
| 4 | Border | 27 | 81.5% | 0 |
| 5 | Dublin | 19 | 52.6% | 1 |
Regions with at least 15 official bathing waters. Size, water type and how densely sites are designated differ, so the table is context rather than a verdict.
Quick answers
- How many bathing waters in Dublin were rated Excellent in 2025?
- 10 of 19 (52.6%) in the official EEA 2025 classification; 5 were Good, 3 Sufficient and 1 Poor. That ranks Dublin 5 of 5 Ireland regions by Excellent share.
- Which beaches in Dublin have the best long-term record?
- 2 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example PORTMARNOCK, VELVET STRAND BEACH, SEAPOINT, FORTY FOOT BATHING PLACE. See the ranking.
- Which places in Dublin have the most official bathing waters?
- An Ros (3, 33.3% Excellent), Dalkey (2, 50% Excellent), Dollymount (2, 50% Excellent). See the place table; places are the nearest named settlement to each site.
- Were any bathing waters in Dublin rated Poor?
- Yes, 1: DUN LAOGHAIRE BATHS.
- Where do I check whether swimming is allowed today?
- On Beaches.ie (EPA) (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local authorities). Temporary bans, pollution alerts and closures are published there and on signs at the water, not in the annual EEA class.
Ireland overview · All regions of Ireland · Bathing waters near Dublin · Bathing season dates
Sources and method
Bathing-water records: European Environment Agency (EEA), data and coordinates reported by Ireland, licensed CC BY 4.0. Region and area boundaries: Eurostat NUTS 2024 (© EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries). Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). A site belongs to the area that contains its reported coordinates; a site up to 10 km off the generalised coastline is placed in the nearest area of Ireland. Counts, shares and rankings are calculated by BathingWaterFinder from the official records.