A TOTAL OF 85 Irish beaches and marinas have been awarded Blue Flags this year.
82 of the 85 beaches and nine out of 10 marinas awarded last year have retained Blue Flag status for this year. Three additional beaches have obtained Blue Flag status for the 2024 bathing season.
The three beaches not awarded in 2023 that have been awarded for the coming bathing season are Bettystown Beach in Co Meath, Enniscrone Beach in Co Sligo and Traught in Co Galway.
The Blue Flag award is given to beaches and marinas that have excellent water quality and also maintain other standards including safety standards.
It is an international award which is operated in Ireland by An Taisce.
When the first awards were presented in 1988 only 21 flags were awarded. Beaches that receive the award follow specific criteria related to water quality, information provision, environmental education, safety and site management.
Here’s a map of the Blue Flag beaches for 2024:
(Click here to view a larger version of this image)
Co Kerry is the county with the most Blue Flags this year at 13, followed by Co Mayo and Co Donegal with 12 each.
Three beaches that received a Blue Flag last year have not been awarded for the 2024 season. These are Rush South Beach in Dublin, Ballymoney North Beach in Co Wexford and Tramore in Co Waterford.
The Blue Flag Programme requires that beaches being awarded for the upcoming season have achieved Excellent bathing water quality in the most recent annual classification.
Each of the sites received a classification of Good, the second highest classification available based on analysis of bathing water samples over the past four bathing seasons.
Bettystown Beach in Co Meath has this year been awarded a Blue Flag for the first time since 1996. Enniscrone in Co Sligo has been awarded for the first time since 2014.
Nine out of Ireland’s 10 marina’s received a Blue Flag this year.
The Blue Flag awarded to Greencastle Marina in 2023 was withdrawn by Donegal County Council in July 2023 as construction works at the harbour on a breakwater necessitated closure of the seasonal marina there. There was no application for Greencastle Marina for 2024.
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