Did your local beach make the list?
A record number of 93 beaches and eight marinas in Ireland have received the prestigious Blue Flag award for 2021, reflecting their excellence in water quality, information provision, environmental education and safety and site management.
The awards were announced by An Taisce, the governing body of protected sites for Ireland, in a virtual awards ceremony.
The number of sites receiving the award is up two on last year’s total.
79 of the 81 beaches and all 10 marinas awarded in 2020 have retained Blue Flag status for 2021.
Four additional beaches have obtained Blue Flag status for the 2021 bathing season, including Inchydoney East Beach in Cork which earned the award for the first time.
Meanwhile, Ballymoney North Beach in Wexford and Bertra in Mayo failed to retain Blue Flag status this year.
Both beaches did not meet the “excellent” water quality standard necessary to obtain Blue Flag status, though the quality at these sites was deemed “good” based on water samples taken between 2017 and 2020.
The counties with the most Blue Flags for 2021 are Donegal and Kerry which have 14 for their beaches and marinas.
63 sites, meanwhile, earned Green Coast awards, which recognise beaches for their clean environment, excellent water quality and natural beauty.
All 61 of the beaches awarded in 2020 have retained Green Coast Award status for the coming season.
Rush South Beach in Dublin and Gurteen Bay in County Galway are both first-time recipients of the award.
The county which received the most Green Coast Awards was Cork with 13.
For the full list of awards, see here.
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