![\"Fountainstown](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/287584698_5758133437533668_3352693383926205455_n.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDangerous rips reported at the busy beach<\/p>\n
13:26, 12 Jul 2026Updated 14:40, 12 Jul 2026<\/p>\n
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Fountainstown Beach(Image: Fountainstown Beach)<\/p>\n
Lifeguards have issued a red flag warning at one of the most popular beaches in Cork, and swimmers have been warned to keep out of the water.<\/p>\n
Due to “very strong rips” the red flags have gone up at Fountainstown. The beachguards are encouraging anyone seeking a swim to “choose another” of the lifeguarded beaches around the Cork coast.<\/p>\n
In an urgent message for swimmers, the Cork Co Council Beachguards said: “Fountainstown beach has changed to red flag due to very strong rips. No swimming. Please choose another lifeguarded beach.”<\/p>\n
UPDATE: Shortly after 2 pm, the beach flags were changed back to red over yellow. Swim between the flags.<\/p>\n
In their update this morning, the Beachguards official beach report included areas with red over yellow flags with ‘flat calm conditions,’ including Garrettstown, The Warren and Tragumna.<\/p>\n
While the Cork Harbour beach at Fountainstown is one of the most popular swimming spots in Cork, thanks to being a half-hour drive from the city and on a bus route, people are being warned to choose another option if they want to get in the water. It’s also worth noting that the nearby Myrtleville beach is NOT lifeguarded.<\/p>\n
Strong, choppy waves and rips can be dangerous, particularly for inexperienced swimmers, and can drag people out into the current within seconds.<\/p>\n
Beach lifeguard services across the county start at 10.30 am and finish at 7 pm this evening. During the daytime, there are beachguards on duty at Front Strand, Claycastle and Redbarn in Youghal, Garryvoe, Fountainstown, Inchydoney, Owenahincha, The Warren, Garrylucas, Garretstown, Tragumna and Barleycove.<\/p>\n
With the hot spell, there are very high visitor numbers to beaches across Cork, and motorists are being warned to park sensibly – not on roads, footpaths, grass verges, or any location that could obstruct access for emergency services.<\/p>\n
The Beachguards at The Warren have reported that the car parks are totally full as of 1.30 pm, and anyone hoping to get down there is advised to plan ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dangerous rips reported at the busy beach 13:26, 12 Jul 2026Updated 14:40, 12 Jul 2026 Fountainstown Beach(Image: Fountainstown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,767],"class_list":["post-546008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}