This article is from page 34 of the 2008-09-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 34 JPG
THE holy grail of Irish surfing has been re-forged and this weekend scores of surfers will compete to be the first to lift the Irish Trophy Cup in almost four decades.
The cup was one of I[reland’s first surfing competition and attracted dozens of surfers to the fledgling sport when held in Lahinch in 1969, ‘70 and °71.
This weekend, hoards of surfers are expected to descend on Lahinch as the West Coast Surf Club and Kenny Bar re-stage the competition for the first time in 37 years.
The inspiration behind relaunching
the competition came when one of Ireland first and most famous surfers visited Lahinch a number of years ago.
“The idea of this came about four or five years ago. One summer, Brian Britton came into the pub. To look at him you wouldn’t think he was a surfer but he walked over to the counter and said that 33 years ear- lier to the day he had pulled into the same parking space and walked into the pub,” said Kenneth Kenny.
‘He was telling us all about the old days of surfing and he mentioned the surfing competition. So eventually we decided to get it going again.”
The original winners of the compe-
tition were awarded a carved stone trophy, which quickly became the most recognisable prize in Irish surf- ing. Having since been lost, com- petition organisers contracted local sculpture Shane Gilmore to remake the holy grail of Irish surfing.
“The trophy is wonderful, like the original it’s made out of stone and has four sides that show off the dif- ferent elements of surfing in Lahinch. We also have a carved bog-oak surf- board that the winner will be able to keep forever. We will also have a larger bog-oak surfboard in the pub which will carry the winners name each year,’ continued Kenneth.
“It’s really going to be more like a
celebration of surfing than a compe- tition. The whole idea is to bring the past and the present together and to celebrate the West Coast Surf Club and the wonderful surfing that we have had over the years in Clare.
“We are hoping that this will turn into an annual event and host it in Lahinch every year.
The competition will take place on October 4, 5 and 6, in Lahinch. For more information or to enter check out www.westcoastsurfclub.com.