Surfing
Surfing
Huge waves and hardcore surfers – this is Made In Ireland
We've cracked open the video vault on our award-winning big wave series Made In Ireland to bring you a new edit with the best moments on land and in the water from the Emerald Isle.
The start of the 2020–21 big wave season has been nothing if not historic. Especially in Ireland, where Conor Maguire nabbed what many are calling the biggest wave ever surfed at Ireland's premiere – and most terrifying – wave, Mullaghmore. It was a triumphant moment for Maguire, but the ease at which he surfed that wave belied all the hard work and mentoring that's gone into his talent and bravery.
Lucky for you, two years ago we released filmmaker Mikey Corker's three-part docu-series, Made In Ireland, which traces surfing's roots in what was once considered the unlikeliest of surf destinations. Corker's film went on to win several awards at festivals around the world.
Since Maguire and his beloved Mullaghmore are in the spotlight like never before, we thought it was time to have Corker revisit Made In Ireland and turn out a remix that highlights the best moments from the series.
If after watching you want to check out the entire series and the stories behind it, just scroll down and you'll find the full story and plenty of other Ireland content to enjoy.
Made In Ireland: The Torchbearers
Conor Maguire in the spotlight at Riley's
© Conor Flanagan
Meet the people who put board-riding on the Emerald Isle's map and find out how they're taking it to the next level.
"I kinda miss the old days, when we were regarded as beach bums," says Irish surfing legend Barry Britton in Made In Ireland. The 64-year-old is seen sitting in his home in County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland, recalling the winter in the early 1960s when his mother, who owned a hotel, returned from California with an order for a handful of Malibu surfboards. "We took over the surfboards and the guests never got looking at them," recalls Britton.
Conor Maguire
© Gary McCall
Ireland's first pro surfer, Fergal Smith, is still going strong
© Gary McCall
The Mullaghmore playing field is fierce, frigid and massive.
© Gary McCall
Fergal Smith quickly became known for his style in critical situations
© Gary McCall
It turns out there’s a lot we didn't know about Ireland's surf scene. The Made In Ireland documentary brings us the true story of Irish surfing, from its beginnings with Barry Britton to its bright future with big wave chargers like Conor Maguire.
A lot of people think surfing in Ireland began with the brilliant slab footwork of Fergal Smith in the early 2000s. Indeed, Smith was Ireland's first pro surfer and for a few years he was a prominent figure in surf magazines around the world, but he learned to charge crazy slabs like Mullaghmore and Aileen's in County Clare from a hardcore group of bodyboarders. "We're really lucky to have a big mix of surfers and bodyboarders," says Maguire. "They've all gotten along really well."
It's where I always hoped surfing would be going in Ireland
And this is just the first episode. After we're introduced to the torchbearers of the sport like Britton and Smith, the documentary takes us to the Nutjobs of Chapter Two, a tight-knit crew that charges Mullaghmore at its meanest. Then, in Chapter Three, we meet the surfers from around the world who fell in love with Ireland's waves and decided to stay.
"I really wanted to set the standard as high as I could, for myself, for Ireland and for all the people coming up behind me," says Smith. "It's where I always hoped surfing would be going in Ireland."
Made In Ireland: The Nutjobs
South African Barry Mottershead is one of Ireland's best big-wave surfers
© Gary McCall
Your front row seat for one of the biggest days of the year at Mullaghmore and an inside look at the minds of the surfers who charge it.
In the first episode of Made In Ireland, we introduced you to the torchbearers of Irish surfing, some of whom have been obsessed with riding Ireland's cold, but world-class waves long before the spotlight ever turned their way. In Episode 2 of Made In Ireland, we zeroed in on Ireland's maddest surfers – The Nutjobs – made up of a small, core group of friends who relish every opportunity to take on big-wave venues like Mullaghmore and Aileen's.
Several years ago, as big wave surfing was enjoying a renaissance worldwide, these friends banded together to ensure that they could charge Ireland's biggest waves with as much safety as possible. They trained with the Irish coast guard and learned the tricks of the world-renowned water safety teams in California and Hawaii. Their preparation was technological, physical and mental.
As one of the team's veterans, Peter Conroy says, "You go out as a team, you come back as a team. You never leave someone behind."
Noah Lane, hanging on by half a rail at Mullaghmore
© Gary McCall
Conor Maguire finds a clean slope at Mullaghmore
© Gary McCall
Enda Curran toys with the jaws of a Mullaghmore beast
© Gary McCall
A freezing morning surf check
© Gary McCall
The story of Ireland's tightknit big wave crew has never been fully told, so when Irish filmmaker Mikey Corker set out to make Made In Ireland, he knew that he'd have to devote a chapter to these brave souls.
You go out as a team, you come back as a team. You never leave someone behind
Corker rode along with Irish big-wave pro Conor Maguire, as he and the crew prepared for a massive session at Mullaghmore – a wave that Maguire remembered seeing from his home beach as a kid. It was, Maguire says, "kind of like the looming monster in the distance."
Related
Made In Ireland: The Misfits
Australian Noah Lane, like a hot knife through butter
© Gary McCall
Meet the expats who left home to live amid the foul weather and epic waves of Ireland, helping put Irish big-wave surfing on the map.
"There are very few people who will endure that kind of hardship," Conor Maguire says of his expat mates who've uprooted from their homelands to live in Ireland and surf its big, burly waves.
Two of the hearty souls Maguire's talking about are South African Barry Mottershead and Australian Noah Lane. Both men came to Ireland as surf tourists, but couldn't seem to bring themselves to board the plane back home.
Australian Noah Lane, like a hot knife through butter
© Gary McCall
The beauty of Ireland's big-wave venues is like nothing else in the world
© Gary McCall
Conor Maguire, under the Mullaghmore guillotine
© Gary McCall
In Ireland, big waves mean freezing cold
© Gary McCall
As filmmaker Mikey Corker zeroed-in on the final episode of Made In Ireland, he wanted to get inside the minds of Mottershead and Lane, to understand how and why they've become two of Ireland's most diehard surfers.
Corker dug even deeper than that, though. Along with Mottershead and Lane, he explored what it means to be a big wave surfer in Ireland today, with native chargers like Maguire, Peter Conroy and Seamus 'Shambles' McGoldrick.
There are very few people who will endure that kind of hardship
Surf fans in Ireland and beyond raved about Episode 3 of Made In Ireland, so do yourself a favor and go back and watch Episode 1: The Torchbearers and Episode 2: The Nutjobsbefore tuning into this incredible finale.
