Beach · County Mayo
Keem Beach, Achill Island
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 2 September 2026, was excellent. Live status on beaches.ie, which the EPA updates hourly in season.
Keem Beach is a sheltered sandy beach facing southeast with a steep gradient. Two freshwater streams flow into the sea from the surrounding land at Keem beach. Keem Beach has a variety of habitats including large shallow bays and inlets, reefs and mudflats and sandflats which support a variety of plant, animal and bird species. Keem Beach forms part of the Croaghan/Slievemore SAC and pNHA (Site Code 001955) and Achill Head SAC (Site Code 002268). Activities include swimming, surfing, sailing, canoeing, water skiing, jet skies, scuba-diving / snorkelling and fishing. The designated bathing area is approximately 300m in length and approximately 0.14km2 in area. The medium and maximum water depth within the designated bathing water is 0.5m and 5.0m respectively depending on tides.
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 | — | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Excellent | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Excellent | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Excellent | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Excellent | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Facilities
| Lifeguards | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Toilets | Yes | |
| Parking | Yes | |
| Wheelchair access | Yes | Ramp leading to the beach |
| Beach wheelchair | No | |
| Public transport | No | |
| First aid | Yes | |
| Lifebuoy | Yes | |
| Information board | Yes | |
| Activity zones | No | |
| Litter bins | Yes | |
| Recycling | Yes |
Dogs and cars
- Dogs on a leadDogs only allowed before 12pm and after 6.30pm during the bathing season (1st June to 15th September) otherwise allowed at all times onto beach.
- No cars on the beach
- Car-free zone
Latest sample (2026-09-02): E. coli 50, intestinal enterococci 11 (cfu/100 ml).
The EPA's bathing water profile
Outdoors in County Mayo this week
Best day outdoors: Sun, 11 Oct — dry by day, breezy, up to 14°C
Status Yellow - Rain warning for Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo
From Thu, 8 Oct, 09:00 until Fri, 9 Oct, 04:00
Heavy spells of rain.
Be aware of potential impacts:
- Difficult travelling conditions
- Localised flooding possible
Issued by Met Éireann · met.ie/warnings
- Fri, 9 Oct12° / 8°Medium rain showers
- Sat, 10 Oct12° / 7°Sun with light cloud
- Sun, 11 Oct14° / 13°Sun with light cloud
Make a day of it
The nearest trails, beaches, woods and heritage within 25 km.
Trails & walks
Beaches & bathing waters
Parks, gardens & islands
Nature spot · 13 km awayAchill Island (Acaill)IslandWindswept hills of blanket bog slope down to towering cliffs and pristine sandy shores. Achill Island, or Oileán Acaill, is Ireland's largest offshore island and can be reached by car from Mayo's Corraun Peninsula.
Nature spot · 18 km awayInishkea IslandsIslandThe Inishkea Islands (Oileáin Inis Cé), off the coast off Belmullet, County Mayo are rich in history and are believed to be named after Saint Kea who lived on one of the islands.