Céibh an Spidéil

Céibh an Spidéil is a beach in Galway. Life guard is present at bathing season, 12-6 7 days July & Aug weekend June/Sept. Near the beach, there are toilets and a parking area. Dogs must be on a leash at all times. Beach is accessible for guests with disabilities.
Céibh an Spidéil is an east-facing sandy cove that features a fishing pier and rocky shore. It offers diverse plant and animal life, including otters and seals. Swimming and fishing are popular activities.
Swimming and bathing are popular activities in the summer months. There is occasional good shore angling off the rocks behind the pier, and the pier itself when the mackerel are running and the tide is in. Sea angling boat trips are organized locally from the pier. Abhainn Bhoth Loiscth is a popular river for white water kayaking with a popular run finishing up on the beach.
Céibh an Spidéil Bathing Water is located in the Galway Coast Water Management Unit of the Western River Basin District in Spidéal Village, a Gaeltacht area on the shores of Galway Bay just 17kms to the West of Galway City. Galway Bay is a west facing bay, open to the Atlantic. The beach can be reached by means of a narrow road on the west side of the village near the pier. It is one of two designated bathing areas in An Spidéal. The other, Trá na mBan is located on the east side of the village opposite the Spiddal Craft and Design Village. The beach is approximately 180 metres long with a bathing area of 360m2
Céibh an Spidéil is a long sandy cove opening to the east. It is bound by a large stone fishing pier to the south, an area of granite rocky shore to the north and the access road to the pier to the west. The pier is used by local fishing boats on a daily basis. Abhainn Bhoth Loiscthe (Owenboliska River) flows into the bathing area. This river flows through a bog catchment area and can have a strong colour present on occasions. The strand itself consists of a gently sloping muddy sand shore located between areas of sheltered rocky shore. This rocky shore consists of igneous bedrock outcrops. The lower shore can sometimes have a degree of peat cover when the river Abhainn Bhoth Loiscthe floods as peat from boglands in the catchment area are washed out into the bay. The strandline is typically composed of traces of brown (Phaeophyta spp. e. g. F. serratus) and red seaweeds (Rhodophyta spp. e. g. Coralinna officinalis) and generally some peat. It is an exposed beach and the sea can be quite rough at times. The beach can be subject to very strong wave action and strong currents at times. Small stands of seaweed may be present on both the strand and in the bathing water at any time of the year however it is unlikely to pose a nuisance to bathers.