These four Irish beaches no longer have ‘Blue Flag’ status

I'm obsessed with the beach, as in OBSESSED.

Rain or shine, there's nothing like a sea breeze to blow the cobwebs away and I know I'm not alone in this. If you're a fellow beach lover, you may be interested to know that four Irish beaches have lost their Blue Flag status, sad times I know. Spotted on JOE.ie, An Taisce awarded the all-important blue flag status to 79 beaches and six marinas in Ireland but it was bad news for four other beach locations.

79 Irish beaches and 6 marinas are awarded the prestigious Blue Flag Award for the 2016 bathing Season! pic.twitter.com/xdkBCSyRL7

— Blue Flag (@BlueFlagIreland) May 26, 2016

Youghal's Redbarn, Portrane in Dublin and Garretstown in Cork are no longer Blue Flag accredited due to a decrease in the quality of the water. Ross Strand, which you'll find in Killala, Co. Mayo, was struck off the internationally recognised list because the lifeguard cover at the beach wasn't up to the required standards for popular in- season times.