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River Barrow Bagenalstown

Not monitored

This spot isn't an officially designated bathing water, so it has no annual classification and no pollution-alert monitoring. Past sample results are shown below, but none is recent. Assess conditions yourself before entering.

Checked against the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) · data last changed 2 months ago.

About this spot

River bathing area accessed from the riverside track. The River Barrow is a navigation river with weirs and lock gates at several locations. Swimming at Bagenalstown is accessed dirtectly from the car park/picnic area. The location is an excellent open water swimming location, popular with river water swimmers and triatheletes.

This spot’s record

River Barrow Bagenalstown is in Carlow, about 35 km from New Ross. Across the 12 most recent samples published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), E. coli counts ranged from 65 to 2,420 per 100 ml. The highest was taken on 13 June 2025. A classification is calculated from percentiles across four seasons, so no single reading decides how this water is rated.

Recent sample results

The last 12 bacterial samples published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), most recent on the right. Counts are per 100 ml of water.

Dashed line: 1000 E. coli per 100 ml, the Bathing Water Directive guide value for inland waters.

Recent bacterial sample results for this bathing water
DateE. coliEnterococciAssessment
5 Sept10020Excellent
22 Aug14533Excellent
8 Aug2850Good
25 Jul26152Good
17 Jul34544Good
11 Jul242040Poor

A bathing water's official classification is calculated from percentiles across four bathing seasons, not from any single sample — so one high reading doesn't mean a spot is unsafe, and one low reading doesn't mean it's clean today.

Facilities & access

Lifeguard
Yes
Parking
Yes
Toilets
No
Accessible entry
YesAcess to the river directly from the car park/picnic area. There is a boat slip access at this point.
Dogs
Yes
Public transport
YesTrain and Bus services to Bagenalstown. Drop off point 500m from bathing area.

Official water quality

This spot has no official annual classification.

What Excellent, Good, Sufficient and Poor actually mean

Common questions

Can you swim at River Barrow Bagenalstown right now?
River Barrow Bagenalstown is currently marked "Not monitored". This spot isn't an officially designated bathing water, so it has no annual classification and no pollution-alert monitoring. Past sample results are shown below, but none is recent. Assess conditions yourself before entering. This reflects the latest data published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland). Conditions change quickly — always assess the water yourself before entering.
Is there a lifeguard at River Barrow Bagenalstown?
Yes — River Barrow Bagenalstown has lifeguard cover. Cover is seasonal; check locally before relying on it.
What facilities are there at River Barrow Bagenalstown?
River Barrow Bagenalstown has parking, accessible entry. Facility information is published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland).

This spot is also in

Get told when this changes

We’ll email you when the swim status at River Barrow Bagenalstown moves — a pollution alert opening, or one lifting. Not a newsletter: only this spot, only when it changes, at most once every 12 hours.

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Nearby swimming spots

Contains data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Sea temperature, wave and tide data from Open-Meteo.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Modelled values, not measurements.