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Loughshinny Beach

Good to go

No current pollution alerts — always assess conditions yourself.

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

Sea conditions

Water temperature

13.8°C

Chilly — most swimmers want a wetsuit

Wave height

0.9 m

Significant wave height offshore; inshore conditions vary.

Tide

Coming in

  • High water around UTC
  • Low water around UTC

Modelled values, not measurements — coastal water often differs from the open-sea model, and tide times are approximate to within about half an hour. Use official tide tables for anything that depends on precise timing.

About this spot

Loughshinny Beach is a gently sloping, small, sheltered, cove-like sandy beach. Loughshinny harbour, a small active fishing harbour, is to the east of the beach.

This spot’s record

Loughshinny Beach is in Dublin, about 10 km from Balbriggan. Loughshinny Beach was rated Good in 2025 by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland). Its previous classifications were Sufficient in 2024, Poor in 2023 and Sufficient in 2022, so the rating here has moved rather than held. In the previous bathing season Loughshinny Beach was under a short-term pollution restriction on 6 days. That is last season's record and not a forecast for today. Across the 12 most recent samples published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), E. coli counts ranged from 10 to 145 per 100 ml. The highest was taken on 9 September 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: 500 E. coli per 100 ml, the Bathing Water Directive guide value for coastal / transitional waters.

Recent bacterial sample results for this bathing water
DateE. coliEnterococciAssessment
7 Sept638Excellent
24 Aug103Excellent
10 Aug2016Excellent
27 Jul101Excellent
13 Jul4156Excellent
29 Jun101Excellent

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.

Quality over the last 4 years

  1. Sufficient2022
  2. Poor2023
  3. Sufficient2024
  4. Good2025

This water has improved, from Sufficient in 2022 to Good in 2025.

Facilities & access

Lifeguard
YesWeekends only during June. Fulltime in July and August.
Parking
Yes
Toilets
YesOn opposite side of road to car park
Accessible entry
No
Dogs
No
Public transport
No

Official water quality

Classified Good in 2025.

Loughshinny Beach is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Loughshinny Beach had a Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2024, a Poor Water Quality rating in 2023 and Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2022. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.

Official bathing-water profile

What Excellent, Good, Sufficient and Poor actually mean

Common questions

Can you swim at Loughshinny Beach right now?
Loughshinny Beach is currently marked "Good to go". No current pollution alerts — always assess conditions yourself. This reflects the latest data published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland). Conditions change quickly — always assess the water yourself before entering.
What is the water quality like at Loughshinny Beach?
the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) classified Loughshinny Beach as Good in 2025. Classifications are a rolling assessment of bacterial samples taken over four bathing seasons, measured against E. coli and intestinal enterococci limits set by the EU Bathing Water Directive.
Is there a swimming ban or warning at Loughshinny Beach?
There are no active bathing restrictions published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) for Loughshinny Beach. That is not a guarantee of safety — assess conditions yourself.
Is there a lifeguard at Loughshinny Beach?
Yes — Loughshinny Beach has lifeguard cover. Hours: Weekends only during June. Fulltime in July and August.. Cover is seasonal; check locally before relying on it.
What facilities are there at Loughshinny Beach?
Loughshinny Beach has toilets, parking. Dogs are restricted. Facility information is published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland).

This spot is also in

Get told when this changes

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Nearby swimming spots

See all swimming spots near Balbriggan — about 10 km away.

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.