Water Safety
Donegal County Council promotes water safety awareness through its involvement with the Donegal Water Safety Committee and Water Safety Ireland. With over 1000km of coastline and an abundance of rivers and lakes water safety in Donegal is of particular importance.
General Advice
All beach users are asked to take care when at the beach, and in particular:
NEVER SWIM ALONE.
Or indeed surf, dive or sail unless there is someone with you. Always swim parallel to the shore. Swim at a Lifeguarded beach.
NOTE LOCATION OF LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT.
Before entering the water, familiarise yourself with the location of lifebuoys.
If you see anyone in trouble in the water phone 112 or 999 and ask for the Coast Guard.
Beach Lifeguards
Beach Lifeguards will be on duty at our Blue Flag beaches between 1st June to the 15th of September
Hours of Work: 12.00pm to 18.30pm
Water Safety Ireland has a list of Lifeguarded beaches that you can also check.
https://watersafety.ie/lifeguards/
For more information on safety at sea visit:
Water Safety Ireland at watersafety.ie
Irish Lifeboats at irishlifeboats.com
marineleisuresafety@transport.gov.ie
Many recently arrived Ukrainians have never visited a beach and are unfamiliar with such stranding risks. Please help to keep them safe by reaching out in your community with the translated advice at www.watersafety.ie/ukraine
Also the RNLI has a range of translated safety resources in many languages which are available to download here: https://rnli.org/safety/multi-lingual-resources