Four of Achill’s most popular beaches have retained their Blue Flag status in An Taisce’s Blue Flag and Green Coast Award Flags for the 2025 season. A fifth beach, Golden Strand in Dugort, has moved from Blue Flag to the Green Coast award category due to issues of access to the beach. The Green Coast award recognises beaches for their clean environment, excellent water quality and natural beauty. An Taisce says: “Green Coast Award sites are exceptional places to visit and enjoy our rich coastal heritage and diversity.” They are generally awarded to beaches that are more rugged and remote than their Blue Flag counterparts.
For Keel beach, the announcement represents 37 consecutive years as a Blue Flag beach and is testament to the hard work and dedication of local residents, watersports groups and businesses that rely on the beach, and Mayo County Council. A number of local organisations arrange regular community beach cleans at Keel, among them Achill Island Surf Club and the local circus group, Circus250.
In addition to providing lifeguards to Achill’s four Blue Flag beaches during the season, Mayo County Council, in conjunction with Achill Tourism, facilitates the provision of beach wheelchairs on both Keel and Dugort (Silver Strand) beaches. Used with beach mats, these wheelchairs give access not only to the beaches themselves but are also designed to float in water, so allow the user to enjoy the pristine Atlantic waters too.
News of the An Taisce awards comes just days after the Environmental Protection Agency published its annual Bathing Water Quality report which rated Achill’s four Blue Flag beaches, plus Dugort Golden Strand, its highest category of ‘excellent’ for water quality. Read ‘Achill’s Bathing Waters Rated Excellent‘.
An Taisce says of the Blue Flag awards: “The Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised environmental awards. The programme aims to raise environmental awareness and promote sound environmental management of beaches, marinas and eco-tourism boats around the world. The 89 Irish beaches and 10 marinas that have achieved this accolade must adhere to specific criteria related to water quality, information provision, environmental education, safety and site management for the duration of the bathing season.”
