Poor weather conditions disrupted this year's planned Sceilg Mhichíl Dawn Dive but divers still raised over €3,000 for the Kerry Hospice Foundation.
Organisers Inbhear Scéine/Kerry Sub Aqua Club's Mike O'Donnell said it was the first year they did not make it to the 'rock' for the dawn dive since the event first began in 2016, as the weather intervened.
50 divers, including a number of free divers, had signed up to take part but organisers took the difficult decision last evening to call it off after Met Éireann issued a small craft warning.
However some 20 stalwarts - many of whom had travelled from Galway, Dublin and from Northern Ireland - did manage to dive on the lee shore of Long Island, south of the Portmagee Channel, shortly after 3am.
"It's a great annual event, but it was bound to be impacted by the weather sometime, but we are delighted we got some diving in," said Mr O'Donnell. "We dived to 30 metres today, there was lots of light, lobsters and crayfish. It was disappointing we didn't get to Sceilg, but safety is a priority."
The annual event, organised by the 14 members of the south west Kerry sub aqua club, is now a mainstay of the annual diving calendar and attracts divers from clubs across Ireland.
Séan Moran, of Inbhear Scéine/Kerry Sub Aqua Club, was one of those who spearheaded the dawn dive back in 2016.
While he was disappointed the weather was against them this year, he said they were delighted to have raised €3,000 for Kerry Hospice, and grateful to the boat owners and the Moorings Restaurant in Portmagee for their support.
"The Kerry Hospice Foundation is one which does an unimaginable amount of work and goes above and beyond in its duty," he said.
