Some of the world's top surfers descended on Mullaghmore, Co Sligo this morning to make the most of "spectacular" surfing conditions, not seen in five years.
A Bundoran surfer, Conor Maguire, who was at the heart of the action, said a sea swell of its nature had not been witnessed since Hurricane Epsilon in October 2020.
"We had seen a crazy charge on the forecast from a few days out, and no one could believe the numbers - a massive swell with so much energy and wind behind it."
The Red Bull athlete said waves breaking off Mullaghmore are among the top in the world.
"People decided to travel here from across the world when the saw the weather chart about a week ago," he said.
"It’s more technical to ride a wave in Mullaghmore in comparison to somewhere like Nazaré [in Portugal].
"That’s what makes it more appealing to surfers around the world".
Mr Maguire said swells of its nature are usually accompanied by strong westerly wind leaving conditions too dangerous.
Many of the surfers were towed into the waves on jet skis.
Jet ski drivers then matched the speed of the waves before surfers were released into the fast-moving waves.
Australian James Carew who lives in Portugal described the conditions as "insane".
"We come for the swell. It was insane. I saw some of the craziest waves I’ve seen in my lifetime today."
French Red Bull Surfer Clément Roseyro acknowledged that conditions were challenging.
"I’m happy that everyone is back safe. It’s our sport, pushing our limits… it was crazy. The shape of the waves was like the best art you can draw."
Brazilian Diego Ballestro who has lived in Ireland for four years said he "lived for days like this".
"The [surf] barrel was perfect. I am delighted to be sharing this with the local people. I want to say, thank you Ireland for days like this."
Conor Maguire was joined in the water by a crew of international Red Bull surfers including Justine Dupont from France, Natxo Gonzalez from Spain and Ben Larg from Scotland.
Mr Larg, who hails from the Isle of Tiree, said various elements lined up perfectly.
"You need everything to line up, including the tide, the wind and the swell. It’s something you don’t want to miss when it works.
"It keeps us coming back because you get a good rush of adrenaline".
Peter Conroy who travelled from Miltown Malbay, Co Clare said the wind switched southwest in the afternoon, creating "spectacular waves".
"You’re looking 40-50ft in size at the big sets of waves. These waves create this big barrel that you can get into and hopefully, get out.
"Many of us train together. We had two doctors out there and a full medical kit to cover everything in the event of an emergency.
"We’ve been out since half seven this morning. We came back in for a bite of sandwiches, and we were back out for two hours. Great fun."
