Beach information, bathing-water quality, coastal conditions, environmental monitoring and practical updates for communities and visitors around Ireland.
Ireland continues to have overwhelmingly high bathing-water standards, with 98 per cent of officially designated sites meeting the required standard in the latest national…
Read articleCork County Council
EPA alert data last synced 24 Aug 2026, 03:20.
Current restrictions and beach signage take priority over annual classifications and individual sample results. Conditions can change between samples.
No recent samples are stored locally yet. The automatic synchronisation will populate them.
Oileán Chléire (Cape Clear Island) has an enviable location – right on the cusp of the continental shelf. The entrance to Roaringwater Bay is one of the leading dolphin, whale, leatherback turtles, sunfish, and shark sighting locations in Europe. The island has Ireland’s only manned bird observatory, which maintains a daily species log since 1959. Located two minutes’ walk from the ferry beach, the observatory is manned by a resident warden (March to November), and even offers birdwatchers hostel-style accommodation. There are various beaches and piers on Cape Clear suitable for swimming, one such area is Trá Coinlín (Coinlín Beach), South Harbour.
Managed by Cork County Council.
