A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Ireland's 1,700-mile coast is filled with long, deep bays and mountainous peninsulas covered in grass, moss, and rock. The weather is often blustery and damp, rarely below freezing or above 70; water temperatures range from the high 30s in winter to low 60s in summer. Ireland has surf on the north, west, and south coasts, most of it generated from North Atlantic storms. From August to May, the country's best surf is found on the north shore, particularly along the 26-mile "Causeway Coast," between Ballycastle and Magilligan Point, as waves pile onto a series of beachbreaks and the occasional rock reef. 

The west coast is best during spring and autumn, and can be divided into three regions: Donegal Bay, County Clare, and Dingle Peninsula. Donegal, to the north, has some of the country's best reefbreaks and a prevailing offshore wind; it is described in the 

 as nothing less than "a surfer's paradise." Donegal also has a well-established local surf club and a surf museum/bar. County Clare, south of Donegal, has a variety of surf spots, from easy-to-ride beachbreaks to powerful, board-snapping reefs. The beautiful but inconsistent Dingle Peninsula, in the southwest, can provide excellent waves for those who know the complexities of local wave and weather patterns. The southern coast of Ireland usually gets waves only during winter. 

Most of the surf here is small-to medium-sized, breaking on long sandy beaches or rocky reefs. The Irish surf can get up to 15 feet or bigger, but generally shows best form between four and eight feet. For surfers accustomed to crowded suburban beaches, a visit to Ireland can be an adventure. "Overlooking Bomb Bay," surf journalist Ben Marcus wrote in 1995, "was a very cool, fully-functioning castle, with turrets and spires and flags waving. We were tempted to go up to the gate, ask to see the lord and hopefully get invited inside for a joint of mutton and a pint."

Joe Roddy, Irish scuba-diving pioneer and all-around ocean enthusiast, introduced surfing to Ireland in 1949 near the town of Dundalk, riding a homemade paddleboard made from old wooden tea chests. Nearly fifteen years later, Ian Hill, an British customs officer who'd been watching the sport in Devon, rode his British-made board alone for a summer near a jetty in the Northern Ireland town of Castlerock. At about the same time, Kevin Cavey, who often bellyboarded near the Republic of Ireland town of Bray, read a 

 story on surfing, built himself a plywood and plastic kneeboard, then sent away for a do-it-yourself balsa surfboard kit from England. 

Cavey also traveled to Hawaii to surf, and represented Ireland in the 1966 World Surfing Championships in San Diego, California. The Surf Club of Ireland was formed in 1966 in Bray; Cavey won the first Irish National Championships in 1967; and in the summer of 1969 an Irish team attended the first European Surfing Championships, held on the English Channel island of Jersey. 

By 1970 Ireland had five surf clubs, which combined to form the Irish Surfing Association (ISA), the current governing body of Irish competitive surfing. Ireland hosted the European Championships in 1972, 1985, and 1997, and the 2001 Masters World Championships. Surfing in Northern Ireland organized more slowly, as there were never more than 50 surfers in the area prior to the mid-'80s. Today, however, the wave-rich north coast is Ireland's most-surfed area.

In the mid-'00s, Ireland gained a measure of big wave notoriety, as videos of huge, grey waves ridden at spots like Aileen's and Mullaghmore began pouring out of surf media outlets. 

As of 2012 Ireland was home to around 5,000 surfers, more than a dozen surf shops, and many surf clubs. Fergal Smith, one of Europe's best big-wave surfers, and diminutive touring pro Glenn "Micro" Hall are Ireland's best known surfers. Ireland is featured in a small number of surfing videos, including 

 (2008), and the country's surf breaks are detailed in 

Ireland

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing