Before the Noodle Bagz crew set out on our west coast voyage we asked ourselves “What does the perfect day look like?”. After plenty of suggestions and ruling out unrealistic goals (small swimsuits = miniscule budgets) we gave ourselves a target of three simple daily experiences that would bring us joy:

A swim that would make us feel healthy.
A feed that would make us feel unhealthy.
A drink(s) that would make us forget the first two.

Give this blog a quick scroll to find out how you can do all three in each iconic spot across Galway and Mayo.

Salthill Diving Tower

Noodle Bagz first experience at the Salthill Diving Tower.

Upon arrival we got the sense that Salthill Diving Tower is the heart of sea swimming for Galway City. Plenty of lifeguards including a couple of legends in canoes, well marked bouys for some distance swims and of course the tower itself.

The top deck of the iconic tower is apparently 30 feet high, but sure you’ll tell the lads it was 50. This west coast Mecca of flips plays host to plenty of young legends striving to be king of the tower. We gave it a fair shot but lacked a neat entry. On our way down we were called “Tom daly’ by a big unit drenched in tattoos and secrets, but sure his belly flop was the biggest show of the day, good lad.

If your crew is keen to check out the Salthill Diving Tower we suggest you combine it with a good night out in Galway City. There’s nothing like the feeling of 8 pints of Smithwicks and a curry chips sitting in your stomach just as you take the big leap.

Noodle Bagz worn in Salthill swim: Dazzle

Feed for the lads: Supermacs

Pints: Every pub on main street Galway

2. Mulranny

We still can’t beat Dad in a swim race, maybe when he’s 70.

If your toleronce for verbose vanities is not much above zero you may be looking for the remote town of Mulranny. More specifically the swim spot located conviniently by a more than decent ‘rough camping’ area. It’s quiet, peaceful and modestly picturesque. You may get a few strong gusts of wind at night, you may even stand on a giant cow shit left by one of the local beautys (pictured), but the morning swim a mere fifty feet from your tent will be worth it.

A perfect spot to pitch a tent or bring a camper. Not too many shops near so have your sausages packed for the morining feed. It’s a blue flag beach with a lifeguard station, blissful on a calm day. We swam the length of the beach (about 500 meters) a couple of times, popping up frequenlty to take in the sights, class.

Directly across from the beach you can see Croagh Patrick. This mountain is host to an annual barefoot pilgarimdge on Reek Sunday. This arduous trek is said to bring you closer to God. We chose 12 pints of guinness and met the Devil.

Noodle Bagz worn in Mulranny: Peeled

Feed for the fam: Mulranny Park hotel (sheeesh bouji, they even served an amuse bouche).

Pints for the fam: Same same, we couldn’t move.

3. Keem Bay

The Keem secret is well and truly out. There aren’t too many Irish swim blogs leaving Keem on the cutting room floor and we won’t be either. If we did it would be like that friend who only listens to unknown bands, “Pffft I listened to Mac Demarco in 2015, I’m over it now” that guy sucks.

Keem Bay is beyond magnificent, they could have shot the first scene from Lost here but the only black smoke you might see is from the old tour bus getting back up the hill (90’s kids love this reference). If you want to do the cycle from Mulranny to Keem Bay you’ll also end up like the characters in Lost, dead at the end.

Keem Bay, Achill. View from the approach.

Right in the middle of the bay was a lobster pot buoy. We took a leisurely swim in it’s direction to zoom out our perspective on this awesome spot. The water below was clear for about 300 meters of our journey until we hit a seaweed patch. We floated for a bit to take in the high hills on either side guarding this unreal cove. It’s definitely worth the hype.

Noodle Bagz worn for Keem Bay swim: Hey Lemon

Feed for the fam: 99 cone with a flake

Pints for the fam: Lynotts Bar (Smallest pub on Achill)

4. Dogs Bay

So three lads are sitting in a pub in Roundstone, vaccine cards checked, seafood platter ordered, the sound of a fresh Guinness keg rolling up to the bar. It’s 11am and raining, “That’s us for the day" we said. But just like Love Island Season 4 Episode 32 a big shock was coming. The sun smashed it’s way out from behind the clouds and the lads instantly bolted for the closest beach. Parking was tighter than a mouses waistcoat and we lost a lung blowing up the paddle boards but we made it. Warmest day of the Irish calendar year on Dogs Bay Beach, lucky chaps.

The water was blue like that Leonardo DiCaprio movie, and the vibes were high like that Leo Varadkar festival. We took the paddle boards out a few hundred meters, taking turns to either paddle leisurely or swim vigorously. This was definitely a vacation swim, no meters counted, no strokes per minute measured, just enjoying the moment in this glorious part of the world.

Noodle Bagz worn for Dogs Bay swim: Breton

Feed for the lads: Campsite breakfast sandwich.

Pints for the lads: Kings Bar Roundstone

Search for self called off after 33 years…

5. Downpatrick Head

Our final stop on the west coast road trip was Downpatrick head for the Red Bull Cliff Diving. Downpatrick is in county Mayo, who were playing in the All Ireland GAA (Irish football) final that very day. So the plan was simple: Hit the Red Bull Cliff diving with our media passes (now that we’ve published this blog the accreditation becomes legitimate), explore the cliff side to find an epic spot for a swim by the iconic sea stack and finally find the local watering hole to watch the big game.

Step one done. The Red Bull Cliff diving is a rad event with the highest dive at 27 meters. We met some of the legendary divers and even got Mexican hero Sergio Guzman into a pair of Noodle Bagz.

With the action at the cliffs nearing an end we took off to find a path to the bottom of the sea stack. We cruised back to where there was a drop in height (10 meters as opposed to 30) and scaled down to a waterside ledge. Immediately we were soaked by a couple of rogue waves but that just added to the craic. Arriving at the bottom of the sea stack we were greeted by a cavernous gap in the cliff where we whipped off our wet clobber and set out to swim around the sea stack. Not the calmest swim we’ve ever had but maybe the most epic.

Before a stern ‘Karen’ drops us a mail about sea safety; we did our due diligence to asses the sitaution and make it a safe swim for all the lads. The same could not be said for the crew at our next stop. We scampered off rapidly to find a local boozer for the All Ireland final. As soon as we got to Healy’s in Ballycastle there was a young lad getting escorted out by his mates. His eyes were glazed like a fresh donut and his Mayo jersey was on backwards (number 18 though so he benched for county to his credit). We thought it was a bad sign for Mayo and it was, they got trashed by Tyrone. We never found out who won the diving, but there was plenty of frontflips in Healy’s that night.

Noodle Bagz worn for Downpatrick Head swim: Dazzle

Feed for the lads: 3 Bags of Tayto crisps at Healy’s (Cheese and Onion)

Pints for the lads: Healy’s

Search for self resumed. Click the instagram icon to follow Noodle Bagz.

Thanks for reading this mindless drivel. We hope the epic shots from Dean Massey made up for our lack of valuable information. If you’re planning on swimming on the west coast of Ireland but worry about those ice cold water temps’ check out our signature pair ‘Jimi’ below. It’stoo spicy to get cold.

Jimi

$45.00

Five Soul Cleansing Swim Spots on Ireland's West Coast

Salthill Diving Tower

2. Mulranny

3. Keem Bay

4. Dogs Bay

5. Downpatrick Head