Kerry faces annual struggle to recruit beach lifeguards, council told

Recruitment challenges and reliance on seasonal workers are limiting efforts to extend lifeguard cover beyond peak summer months

Reenroe in Ballinskelligs. File picture

It is “a struggle” to recruit and retain beach lifeguards each year for County Kerry’s beaches due to a limited pool of candidates, a council meeting has heard.

There have been calls for the council to extend the lifeguard season across the county’s Blue Flag beaches. 

Kerry again holds the highest number of Blue Flag awards nationally, with 13 beaches and two marinas in 2025, reflecting standards in water quality, management, cleanliness, and environmental practices.

Dogs and loud music are banned from Blue Flag beaches under by-laws.

Spanning the coastline from Ballinskelligs in the south to Banna Strand and Ballybunion in the north, beach activity and sea bathing now take place year-round, the meeting heard.

Tralee's Sinn Féin councillor Paul Daly told the April meeting in Tralee that the council needed to extend the provision of lifeguards “by a minimum of two weeks during the summer months".

This would facilitate lifeguards being on duty in September, Cllr Daly said.

However, beach lifeguards are seasonal employees, mainly drawn from students, and the council has a limited pool to recruit from, the meeting heard.

Beach lifeguards are recruited for seasonal employment each year and assigned to all Blue Flag beaches in the county, a written reply to Cllr Daly stated.

Applicants for the position must hold the National Beach Lifeguard Award, as administered by Water Safety Ireland, or an internationally recognised equivalent.

All eligible applicants must also participate in an open water assessment.

It is a requirement that Kerry County Council assigns lifeguards to beaches at weekends during June and early September, and on a full-time basis during the traditional bathing season of July and August. 

In addition, the council has traditionally offered full-time employment to lifeguards available from the beginning of June, allocating resources as needed until the full complement is in place by late June or early July.

"Given the age profile of beach lifeguards and their involvement in full-time education or other employment (in some cases overseas) it would not be feasible to provide a lifeguarding service outside of the existing arrangements," the report to Cllr Daly said.

“It is a struggle to get beach lifeguards each year,” Martin O’Donoghue, director of corporate services at Kerry County Council, said.

“In theory” they were engaged to the end of August. But as soon as Electric Picnic loomed - at the end of August - it was difficult to hold onto them, he said.

The matter remains under review.

This article was funded under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.