Bathing water quality in South-West, Ireland
South-West has 30 official bathing waters in the EEA dataset for the 2025 season — all coastal. 86.7% were classified Excellent — 8.3 points above the 78.4% across Ireland — and 0 were Poor. 18 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 South-West
Most consistent Excellent sites
18 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025; the first 24 are shown and every site is in the full list below.
- BAILE AN SCEILG (BALLINSKELLIGS) 11 seasons
- BALLYBUNNION SOUTH 11 seasons
- BALLYHEIGUE 11 seasons
- BANNA STRAND 11 seasons
- BARLEY COVE 11 seasons
- CASTLEGREGORY 11 seasons
- DOIRE FHÍONÁIN (DERRYNANE) 11 seasons
- FENIT 11 seasons
- FIONNTRÁ (VENTRY) 11 seasons
- GARRYLUCAS, WHITE STRAND 11 seasons
- INCH 11 seasons
- INCHYDONEY WEST BEACH 11 seasons
- KELLS 11 seasons
- MAHARABEG 11 seasons
- OWENAHINCHA, LITTLE ISLAND STRAND 11 seasons
- ROSSBEIGH, WHITE STRAND 11 seasons
- TRAGUMNA 11 seasons
- WHITE STRAND, CAHERCIVEEN 11 seasons
- GARRETSTOWN 10 seasons
- REDBARN 10 seasons
- YOUGHAL CLAYCASTLE 7 seasons
- INCHYDONEY EAST BEACH 6 seasons
- BALLYBUNNION NORTH 5 seasons
- TRÁ NA HUÍNE (INNY STRAND, WATERVILLE) 5 seasons
Rated Poor in 2025
None of the 30 official bathing waters in South-West was classified Poor in 2025.
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (0)
None.
Declined (1)
- FOUNTAINSTOWN Excellent → Good
How South-West 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 | 29 | 26 | 89.7% | 0 |
| 2024 | 30 | 27 | 90% | 0 |
| 2023 | 30 | 26 | 86.7% | 0 |
| 2022 | 30 | 26 | 86.7% | 0 |
| 2021 | 30 | 26 | 86.7% | 0 |
| 2020 | 30 | 24 | 80% | 1 |
| 2019 | 28 | 22 | 78.6% | 0 |
| 2018 | 28 | 22 | 78.6% | 0 |
| 2017 | 28 | 22 | 78.6% | 0 |
| 2016 | 28 | 23 | 82.1% | 0 |
| 2015 | 28 | 20 | 71.4% | 1 |
Places with the most bathing waters in South-West
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youghal | 3 | 3 (100%) | 0 |
| Ballybunnion | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Cahersiveen | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Clonakilty | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Kinsale | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
All 30 official bathing waters in South-West
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 30 sites as CSV (classes 2015–2025, coordinates, nearest place; EEA data, CC BY 4.0)
Coastal 30 sites · 86.7% Excellent
- BAILE AN SCEILG (BALLINSKELLIGS) Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- BALLYBUNNION NORTH Excellent Excellent 5 seasons in a row
- BALLYBUNNION SOUTH Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- BALLYHEIGUE Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- BANNA STRAND Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- BARLEY COVE Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- CASTLEGREGORY Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- COOLMAINE Not classified
- CÚAS CROM · Cahersiveen Excellent Excellent 2 seasons in a row
- DOIRE FHÍONÁIN (DERRYNANE) Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- FENIT Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- FIONNTRÁ (VENTRY) · Dingle Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- FOUNTAINSTOWN · Crosshaven Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- GARRETSTOWN · Kinsale Excellent Excellent 10 seasons in a row
- GARRYLUCAS, WHITE STRAND · Kinsale Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- GARRYVOE · Castlemartyr Good
- INCH Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- INCHYDONEY EAST BEACH · Clonakilty Excellent Excellent 6 seasons in a row
- INCHYDONEY WEST BEACH · Clonakilty Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- KELLS Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- MAHARABEG Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- OWENAHINCHA, LITTLE ISLAND STRAND Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- REDBARN · Youghal Excellent Excellent 10 seasons in a row
- ROSSBEIGH, WHITE STRAND Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- TRÁ NA HUÍNE (INNY STRAND, WATERVILLE) Excellent Excellent 5 seasons in a row
- TRAGUMNA · Skibbereen Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- WARREN, CREGANE STRAND Good
- WHITE STRAND, CAHERCIVEEN · Cahersiveen Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- YOUGHAL CLAYCASTLE Excellent Excellent 7 seasons in a row
- YOUGHAL FRONT STRAND BEACH Excellent Excellent 5 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 South-West were rated Excellent in 2025?
- 26 of 30 (86.7%) in the official EEA 2025 classification; 3 were Good, 0 Sufficient and 0 Poor, and 1 had no class. That ranks South-West 1 of 5 Ireland regions by Excellent share.
- Which beaches in South-West have the best long-term record?
- 18 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example BAILE AN SCEILG (BALLINSKELLIGS), BALLYBUNNION SOUTH, BALLYHEIGUE. See the ranking.
- Which places in South-West have the most official bathing waters?
- Youghal (3, 100% Excellent), Ballybunnion (2, 100% Excellent), Cahersiveen (2, 100% Excellent). See the place table; places are the nearest named settlement to each site.
- Were any bathing waters in South-West rated Poor?
- No. None was classified Poor in 2025.
- 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 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.