Sligo man Gearóid McDaid is the countries top competitive surfer. He has represented Ireland since he was 13 and was the National Senior Champion by just 16.
Surfing was added to the Olympic roster for the Tokyo 2020 games, which will take place this summer after being postponed due to the pandemic last year.
McDaid is currently preparing for the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games, which are taking place in El Salvador next week. The games award four Olympic qualifying spots to the top placed participants that have not already qualified for Tokyo.
Speaking on OTBAM on Tuesday, McDaid said he believes surfing's addition to the Olympic games has legitimised the sport.
“It’s a really great thing to have surfing in it, really shows that it’s a real sport and not just a fun thing people do on the weekends.”
Despite surfing allowing McDaid to globetrot to places like El Salvador and Namibia, he considers Ireland to have some of the best surf spots on offer.
“I’m in Costa De Caparica (Portugal) now… This stretch of coast here is probably my second favourite place to be in Europe, other than home.
“Anywhere between Lahinch and Bundoran, there are just crazy waves on the whole coast. It probably has the most diverse and best waves throughout the world.”
Credit: Fourth SurfboardsMcDaid has obtained sponsorships from some of the premier companies involved in the sport, such as Ripcurl and Monster Energy but has yet to receive support from the government.
“Due to surfing only coming into the Olympics this year, there hasn’t been funding from Sport Ireland, but I’m hoping that with surfing in the Olympics this year, maybe for the next Olympics it’ll be more recognised as an elite sport and be able to get some funding from Sport Ireland.”
McDaid is optimistic his Olympic push can allow future surfers to ride his wave and put Ireland on the map.
“I’ve just got to show that surfing deserves some funding; that’s my main thing. Even for the future generations of kids coming from Ireland, it’d be great to build them up and get Ireland on the map for surfing.”
“We really do have some of the best waves in the world, and it’d be great if we could really put it out that Ireland has some of the best surfers in the world as well.”
Credit: Visit BundoranFunding for surfing would benefit a wide range of communities and sectors, none more than the tourism sector.
As McDaid mentioned, the west coast of Ireland has world-renowned beaches for surfing. Funding for the sport would breathe new life into rural west coast communities that are starved of investment.
“There are not many people that have gone surfing and didn’t have fun. It’s a big tourist thing, a lot of my friends survive on the tourism side of it. They run surf schools, so if we can build it up, it’s a great thing for everybody.”
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