| A wave through the hills |
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By Paul Morgan
From the latest Issue of Australian Surfing Life
Hawaii Vs Ireland
Towards the end of the year I was confronted with two options. One, go to Hawaii with every man and his dog or two, go to Ireland. Yes, Ireland. I knew it could pump, but I also knew it was incredibly hard to score waves, and apart from a few shots I’d seen in these pages earlier this year, I had no clue what to expect. Weighing the options, I put both destinations head-to-head.
Little-known Ireland versus big-shot, in your face Hawaii.
Hawaii: warm. Ireland: far from it. Hawaii: crowded. Ireland: you kidding? Score: One all.
The deciding question? New destination versus old destination. In other words, not a decision at all - you’ve gotta go with the new. Ireland wins.
| | Pipe? Nope, somewhere in Ireland. | Photo: Mickey Smith |
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Thinking of being out Off The Wall or Rocky Point with a million and one other people, I was happy with my choice. Hawaii is a great place to make a name, and there’s always the chance you’ll get a bomb at Pipe, but it’s a huge world out there with plenty of unknown waves I’d rather seek and discover.
Outside the comfort zone
I left Sydney with an exhilarating feeling of the unknown, wondering what awaited me on the other side of the world. It was coming into winter and I wasn’t sure whether it was going to be too cold, too windy or too rainy. After a full-day flight I landed on Irish soil with the sun blazing, although the temperature was sitting on a chilly 10 degrees. Sitting out the front of the airport waiting for my lift, I was in awe and completely taken by my surroundings, and couldn’t help but laugh to myself at how old school Ireland seems. It’s like the place is stuck in the 60s, and the people don’t seem to mind at all. My man Mickey Smith picked me up in his yellow mini panel van, Jose Gonzales on the stereo, and we were exchanging laughs and stories right from the word go.
| | No beach and freezing water. Welcome to Ireland. | Photo: Mickey Smith |
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I might not have been travelling with Hobbits, but surfing Ireland felt like being on the set of yet another Lord of the Rings sequel. It’s hard to describe surfing in such an unusual place, with its rolling hills, towering cliffs and ancient castles. Surfing in the Irish environment gave me a whole new buzz for my love of riding waves. As well as just going for a surf, there’s adventure in finding them - it’s as if when Mother Nature formed this unique coast she was totally against us. Or she just wasn’t considering weird dudes would be willing to surf these extreme shores. With huge seven-metre tides and some of the most fickle conditions in the world, the Emerald Isle gets completely battered by Atlantic Lows, which pound the rugged coastline. Locals told me stories of frontal systems hammering the coast one after another in winter. Sometimes they’ll go two months without leaving the house. Howling onshore winds and drizzling rain is the exact weather Ireland is famous for, which I was soon to learn a lot more about, but first things first.
| | Morgo on a bomb. | Photo: Mickey Smith |
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| | Into the abyss | Photo: Mickey Smith |
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I was lucky on this trip. I was in Ireland for one month and got five pumping days of surf, and was often reminded by the locals that “this was a good run.”
In fact the surf was absolutely going off its head at the very time I arrived, and Mickey was taking me and two of his mates to a new spot he’d come across. When I say new spot, I mean it; we were the first to surf this wave. I know this because Ireland’s surfing population is approximately 100 people, and Mickey knows most of ’em. If it’s pumping in Ireland, then everything else is secondary, and we rocked up to the spot straight from the airport with me still half twisted from the flight. Having only been in Ireland for an hour and a half, looking down on this wave I was blown away. It was a heaving slab, an Oz-style wave, but there was not a soul around. The whole experience of surfing this wave, knowing we were the first, was the most magical surf encounter in my life.
Exchanging waves with two other people for three hours, I had to stop and have a look around. Was I dreaming, and was this real? We were in a bay surrounded by the highest cliffs I’d ever seen, pulling into turquoise-green barrels, bathed in Irish sunlight. After surfing this wave for the next two days, I was completely content. Even at such an early stage my trip was already worth it, but my little Irish paradise was about to get thrown upside down.
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The waiting game
I was hanging around for a month and this was halfway through the first week. Plenty more perfect days to come right!? I’d soon realise why Irish surfers need plenty of patience, as the Ireland that had been so kind to me since my arrival absolutely turned on me, delivering consecutive days of howling onshore winds, rain and more rain. On the first stormy day I didn’t really care as I was still buzzing from the last few days. Besides, I thought, it’ll get good again in the next couple or so. Then the sun, or lack of it, passed over us 10 more times with nothing but rain and wind greeting us each morning. I didn’t leave the house much over those 10 days and started to think I was going crazy. I had a bad case of cabin fever.
| | Deep in a sunlit pit | Photo: Mickey Smith |
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Finally, some love on the surf forecast; there was going to be waves again. I was stoked. The most important thing I learnt is you can’t trust the weather bureau in Ireland as things change so quickly. We surfed a couple of Mickey’s favourite waves, each a new expedition in itself, climbing farmers’ fences, dodging cowshit and strolling through fields of magic mushrooms. This was the easy part. As you edge towards the cliff you have to transform yourself into Gollum himself or maybe even a mountain goat, due to the sheer drops from top to bottom that you have to negotiate at every wave.
| | Another sunlit barrel. | Photo: Mickey Smith |
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Even though I didn’t surf much, or party at all, Ireland still managed to be the best surf experience of my life - maybe because it was so random. Tell the average person you’re going to Ireland to surf and they usually look at you like you’re some kind of crazy tripper, but that’s a big reason why I wanted to go there. Next time you’re planning a trip, do your research, find the most random place you can, and go. I dare you.
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Story excerpt from the latest issue of ASL. This month Surfing Life one of our favourite humans - Marcus Luciano Occhilupo , the final moments of his career as he surfs his last heat, and a teary interview. They chat to Australia’s latest World Champions Steph Gilmore and Mick Fanning, and their shaper Darren Handley and chase massive swells in California, Mexico and Ireland. There is a wrap up of this year’s final event, the Pipeline Masters and a wealth of info in the mighty ASL Board Bible, the all-in-one superguide to this year’s best hardcore surfing equipment, including world-first access to ASL’s Experimental Kitchen.
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