World Class Surfing in the West

The bays and inlets of the Western region combined with the North Atlantic swell combine to make Ireland's Western region truly world class for surfing. Aileen's off Clare is now recognised as one of the best known big-waves in the world along with Mavericks in north California, Teahupoo in Taihiti and Dungeons off South Africa.

Aileen’s wave rises 20 - 30 feet high and requires a tow-in.  It was surfed by only a small handful of Irish surfers until it was 'discovered' and surfed by international surfers in late 2005.  It has been described as "one of this planet's true monster waves. Some awe inspiring video footage below:

The 2009 Irish documentary Wave Riders was shot in large part off Bundoran, Co Donegal, and won many awards and accolades, including Best Documentary Award at the 2009 Surfer Poll and Awards in Los Angeles.

Current British Universities and Ireland's 4 time National champion surfer is Donegal native Easkey Britton.  She became the first Irish person to surf the infamous hell-wave Teahupoo aged just 16 and hasn't looked back since!

You don’t however need to tackle towering waves to enjoy surfing.  It is a sport that can be enjoyed at all levels by all ages, and there is excellent surfing to be had up and down the Western coastline.  Surf schools in Bundoran, Strandhill, Lahinch amongst many others will help get you started or improve your technique.

Check the waves online with multiple online wave reports and web cams, to ensure you never arrive at the beach to find no waves. You can easily kit yourself out at surfshops or multiple rental outlets around region.