Urgent ‘do not swim’ warning for popular Irish beach
Lahinch Beach in Co. Clare has been hit with a ‘do not swim’ warning with a risk of illness emerging for those who get in the water.
The popular beach is usually a summer haven for swimmers and surfers alike but this weekend they will have to find somewhere else to take a dip.
On Thursday, Clare County Council issued the bathing prohibition on the advice of the HSE after the results of routine bathing water samples showed elevated levels of bacteria.
Lahinch Beach has raised a red flag this week. Pic: Mark Gusev/Shutterstock
A red flag has been raised at the beach and the ban is expected to last about five days.
The Council stated: ‘Run-off from the catchment after exceptionally heavy rainfall is a likely cause of the elevated levels of bacteria in the water.’
In an alert issued by Beaches.ie, they warned that swimming in the water could cause illness.
Lahinch is hugely popular for swimmers and surfers. Pic: Getty Images
This past week has been a mixed bag of weather conditions with both heavy rainfall and clear sunshine occurring nearly simultaneously across multiple days.
The rain has followed what was a scorching weekend that had people flocking to beaches all across the country and in some cases the good weather caused more issues than the bad.
Getting in the water could lead to illness. Pic: Mark Gusev/Shutterstock
Dublin’s Burrow Beach was left in a sorry state after thousands of sunseekers descended on the area during the heatwave, leaving council crews to deal with overflowing bins, scattered litter, and even a vandalised public toilet.
Fingal County Council were forced to ramp up its response last weekend, deploying additional cleaning staff on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, along with two large tractors to help tackle the mess by Sunday morning.
Lahinch and Burrow may get some well-needed recovery time this week so but hopefully the scattered downpours don’t last too long.
