All Season Advisory for Front Strand Balbriggan and Loughshinny

Please be advised that an all-season advisory is in place for Front Strand Balbriggan and Loughshinny Beach for the 2024 bathing season. 

• This is a temporary public health notice advising the public of the potential risk of illness due to the ‘Poor’ classification rating from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  
• This assessment was based on the last four years of bathing water quality data (2020-2023) and is not related to a current bathing water pollution event.  
• It is not a ban on swimming or a closure of the beach. 
• It does mean that this water has met ‘poor’ status results in the past and the All-Season Advisory Notice will remain in place until a new assessment at the end of this bathing season is carried out by the EPA.

Please note that in the results of pre-season bathing water testing Front Strand Balbriggan and Loughshinny Beach achieved a status of Excellent.

Further information and FAQ's

You can read our guide to what this All-Season advisory means in our FAQ's below and also learn about the measures Fingal County Council is taking to improve the situation, and a list of all the water quality results over the previous 4 years in our Beach Management Plans

All Season Advisory Front Strand Balbriggan FAQ's

Balbriggan Beach Management Plan

All Season Advisory Loughshinny FAQ's

Loughshinny Beach Management Plan

Advice

To reduce the risk of illness, beach users should take the following precautions:

• Avoid swallowing or splashing water
• Wash your hands before handling food
• Avoid swimming with an open cut or wound
• Avoid swimming if you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system.

Further information is available at www.hse.ie/water 

Up to date bathing water quality information

Water quality testing is scheduled for approximately every two weeks at Loughshinny and every week at  Front Strand, Balbriggan during the bathing season and results will be available on www.beaches.ie and on our website at: https://www.fingal.ie/beaches-bathingwaterquality and social media or register for results for this beach on Fingal Alerts for information to be sent to your phone.

Protect your health with the ‘48 hour rule’ by not swimming 48 hours after heavy rainfall - https://www.beaches.ie/beach-guide/