Beach · County Cork
Inchydoney East Beach
Water quality: Excellent (2025)Blue FlagLifeguards in seasonToiletsParkingNo dogs
Can I swim here? Outside the bathing season
The bathing season runs from 1 June to 15 September. Outside it the water is not tested weekly and lifeguards are not on duty. The last sample, on 1 September 2026, was excellent. Live status on beaches.ie, which the EPA updates hourly in season.
Inchydoney East beach is a sandy south facing beach. The bathing area is approximately 500m long. The bathing water is approximately 0.12km² in area.
Excellent (2025): The highest standard: results over four years were consistently very clean.
The record, year by year
| Year | EPA classification | Samples | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Excellent | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Excellent | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Excellent | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Excellent | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Facilities
| Lifeguards | Yes | Life guards are on duty during the bathing season, times of attendance are shown on local notice boards. The lifeguard station is located on Virgin Marys Point promontory.The lifeguards provide emergency first aid services. |
|---|---|---|
| Toilets | Yes | Public toilet facilities are provided at the rear of the adjoining Inchydoney Beach at the eastern car park. These toilets discharge to the Clonakilty waste water collection system, effluent is pumped to the Clonakilty waste water treatment plant. |
| Parking | Yes | Public car parking is provided at the north-west of the beach with walkways & steps to the beach. |
| Wheelchair access | No | |
| Beach wheelchair | No | |
| Public transport | Yes | Road train from Clonakilty town to beach operates during tourist season |
| First aid | Yes | With Lifeguards |
| Lifebuoy | Yes | |
| Information board | Yes | |
| Activity zones | No | |
| Litter bins | No | |
| Recycling | No |
Dogs and cars
- Dogs are not allowedDogs are not allowed on this beach between 10.30 a.m. & 7.00 p.m. during the bathing season which runs from 1st June to 15th September.
- No cars on the beach
Latest sample (2026-09-01): E. coli <10, intestinal enterococci 5 (cfu/100 ml).
The EPA's bathing water profile
Outdoors in County Cork this week
Best day outdoors: Sat, 10 Oct — dry by day, breezy, up to 13°C
- Fri, 9 Oct14° / 8°Sun with light cloud
- Sat, 10 Oct13° / 7°Sun with light cloud
- Sun, 11 Oct15° / 14°Light rain
Make a day of it
The nearest trails, beaches, woods and heritage within 25 km.
Trails & walks
Beaches & bathing waters
Forests & woodlands
Parks, gardens & islands
Nature spot · 9.4 km awayGalley Head ViewBeachReach the vantage point of Galley Head View in County Cork and treat yourself to exceptional views of the local beaches and expansive coastline.
Nature spot · 15 km awayGlenview GardensGardenGlenview Gardens is a 3 acre, multi themed open garden situated 2.5km from Enniskeane, County Cork. The garden includes a sunken white garden, a Mediterranean garden, a Chinese garden as well as a host of other interesting features.