In July Keem Bay was ranked at number 11 in a list of the 50 Best Beaches in the World by travel website Big 7 Travel. Now the iconic bay has been ranked at number three in Conde Nast Traveller’s 20 Best Beaches in the World. In both cases, Keem Bay was the only Irish beach to make the lists.
Keem Bay is a sheltered horseshoe shaped bay at the western tip of Achill Island. It is a Blue Flag beach (lifeguarded during summer months) and is a signature discovery point on the Wild Atlantic Way. Its Atlantic waters are home to basking sharks, dophins and seals along with a wide variety of fish, and Keem Bay is part of the Blueway snorkel trail. Legend has it that during his 40 night sojourn on Croagh Patrick mountain on the south side of Clew Bay, St. Patrick looked across to the golden sands of Keem Bay and blessed it, saying that no-one would ever drown there. To date there has never been a drowning within the bay.