Irish Surfing riding the wave of success in Sligo
SLIGO’S surfing enthusiasts had cause to celebrate last weekend as the 50th anniversary of the Irish Surfing Celebration took place on the same weekend that the Sligo team won their sixth Irish Intercounties Surding title in Rossnowlagh.
the dream team of current Irish National Champion Gearoid Mc Daid, Aaron Reid, Stephen Kilfeather and Colin O Hare lit up the competition to bring the title back home to Sligo.
They defeated the Donegal team of Neil and John Britton, Stephen Conwell and Kenny Ward in a closely fought final run off at Tullan on Saturday evening.
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented at lrish Surfing’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Dinner on Saturday night.
Recipients were the five original founders of The Irish Surfing Association Kevin Cavey, Roger Steadman, Bo Vance, Dave Kenny and Brian Britton together with former Chairman Roci Allan.
In 1966 the Surf Club Of Ireland was formed as a result of a chain of events initiated by Bray man, Kevin Cavey.
Kevin discovered surfing in 1962, when he saw a picture of a Hawaiian surfer in a Reader’s Digest.
This picture was his inspiration for a life- long passion for surfing and for the next few years Kevin experimented with making his own boards, dedicated himself to connecting with other surfers from the four corners of Ireland and set about forming a surf club.
In 1966, Kevin decided it was time to tell Ireland that surfing had arrived.
He took a stand at the Irish Boat Show, titled Bray Ireland Surf Club, and was inundated with interest. It was at the boat show that Kevin met Roger Steadman, who had recently moved from England to Ireland. This meeting and the friendship form was pivotal to the future development of Irish surfing.
A week after the Boat Show, Kevin, who had received delivery of his first custom fibreglass surfboard, his brother Colm, Tom Casey and Patrick Kinsella set off on the first great Surfari
Their first stop was Strandhill, Co Sligo where they were welcomed by the wild atlantic waves and Sean Byrne at the Baymount Hotel.
From Standhill they travelled to Rossnowlagh meeting Mary and Vinnie Britton at the Sandhouse Hotel.
An order was placed with Kevin for two surfboards for the hotel initiating the establishment of surfing in Rossnowlagh.
Kevin had previously made contact with Bo Vance in Northern Ireland so the next stop on the Surfari was Portrush. Thus began the Irish Surfing adventure...
Soon after the Surfari, the Surf Club Of Ireland was formed.
The five founding members were Kevin Cavey, Roger Steadman, Bo Vance, Dave Kenny and a young Brian Britton ( son of Mary and Vinnie Britton).
The new club represented all Ireland. By the late 60s surfing was expanding rapidly and regional clubs had been formed including North Coast Surf Club, South Coast Surf Club and Rossnowlagh Surf Club.
In January 1969 the Surf Club Of Ireland became the Irish Surfing Association, the national governing body linking the newly emerged clubs.
Quickly thereafter followed the West Coast Surf Club, Fastnet Surf Club and Co Sligo Surf Club in Strandhill.
In the years that followed, the Irish Surfing Association was the catalyst for the hosting of European Surfing Championships in 1972 ( Lahinch), 1985 ( Rossnowlagh), 1997 ( Bundoran) and 2011 ( Bundoran).
Irish surf teams became regular attendees at European and World Surfing Championships.
The number of surf clubs in the country blossomed to the current 17 which exist and a necklace of clubhouses were built to encourage the development of the sport.
The Irish Surfing headquarters was established in Easkey in 1995 in co- operation with Easkey Community Council and Sligo Co Council.
Fifty years on surfing is now a mainstream recreation providing much needed year round employment on the periphery of Ireland all along its South, West and Northern coasts.
Today young Irish surfers are competing on the World stage while the early surfers of the 60s, notwithstanding a few grey hairs, continue to enjoy the wave in a sport which attracts all ages from 8 to 88.
It was felt, at the time, that Easkey would be the ideal location for the headquarters of Irish Surfing.
Zoe Lally, Development Officer, said it was crucial at the time to have an information centre for surfers in the area.
“In the mid 1980s I finished university and had been living in Easkey. I spent my whole summer surfing and it was felt that there needed to be someone full- time working there.
“So the headquarters were opened in Easkey. We felt it was such a special location for surfing and with Easkey Community Council we could bring more surfers coming through, and even more to the Sligo area.
“We have so many talented surfers in Sligo and a lot of people are brought up with it in their families,” she added.
And some of those incredibly talented Sligo surfers were members of the successful team at the intercounties last weekend.
Zoe praised the four team members who brought home the silverware.
“Aaron Reid scored a perfect ten at the intercounties last weekend, that doesn’t happen everyday. So that alone just shows you the quality of our surfers,” she added.
For local surfer Gearoid McDaid, it’s been quite the year.
Having won a Nissan Generation Next competition to become an ambassador, Gearoid has enjoyed an unforgettable year.
“It’s been a really good year,” Gearoid said. “I’ve been travelling around a lot, taking part in competitions. It was great to win the intercounties last weekend we were so happy with that,” he added.
The 19- year- old spent his summer travelling around Europe taking part in various competitions, taking in countries such as France and Portugal.
Prior to that, the Hazelwood native visited Mozambique.
“I got a call from my sponsors to see if I wanted to go. It was so cool, it was nuts but it was a great experience,” he added.
Gearoid, whose father was always big into surfing, was brought up around surfboards and the sea. When he was ten, he started fully surfing.
“Since I finished school I surf every single day. I got pretty lucky with all of my sponsors and now I can do it everyday.”
He also feels that surfing’s profile is being raised more and more every year.
“It’s becoming really big throughout the world, especially in Ireland. It’s become more mainstream and more people are taking an interest in it.
“We’re fortunate here in Sligo that we have some of the best beaches for surfing.”
The impressive youngster was delighted to meet some of Irish Surfing’s founders at the 50th anniversary last week, too.
With surfing growing in Ireland each year, it’s very possible that there will be more and more youngsters like Gearoid McDaid bursting on to the scene very soon.