Surfing
We sit down with Conor Maguire to talk about his new documentary, Made In Ireland; the true story of Irish Surfing.
Made In Ireland is the latest surfing documentary from Mikey Corker. Following Conor Maguire and fellow Irish surfers, the documentary takes a deep dive into Irish surfing’s past, present, and future; following its high-profile surfers and underground chargers. We catch up with him after the release of the third instalment in this celebration of surfing on the Emerald Isle.
Hey Conor! Congrats on the film! First of all, can you tell us a little bit about Made in Ireland? How did it all come about?
Made In Ireland came from the weird and wonderful brain of Mikey Corker. He called me at the beginning of 2018 and ran me through what he had in mind. Mikey has spent a lot of time in Ireland over the years and wanted to portray his view of the country in an honest way. Having lived in a van for months in the depths of an Irish winter chasing waves around the fickle shores, he has as good of an idea as anyone as to how temper-mental the place can be. The series shows how changeable the weather is here very naturally.
Mikey also wanted to give people an insight into the tight-knit community here in Ireland. One of Mikey's main concerns was to ensure this series didn't turn into your typical Irish surf flick with leprechauns, rainbows and Guinness flowing. His relaxed manner and respectful nature led people to be very comfortable and honest on camera. This, in turn, gave a true representation of what it's like living and surfing here year round.
Originally, Andrew Cotton was to host the series and introduce all of the characters in Irish surfing. Unfortunately, Cotty broke his back on a crazy wipeout at Nazare just before Mikey got the go-ahead for the project. Mikey then asked me to be a part of the series.
There are a number of things that make surfing in Ireland so special. The obvious answer is our amazing waves. But it's so much more than that.
How did it feel being the centre of a documentary on Irish surfing?
I think Irish surfing is the centre of the documentary, not me, which is why this piece is so cool. It doesn't focus intently on one character, but instead the diverse mix of interesting people we have in our community. It was an absolute honour to travel up and down the coast, with Mikey visiting people I admire so much and hearing everyone's thoughts on surfing in Ireland, their past experiences and views on the future. I only wish we could have squeezed everyone in. It was great filming with Mikey because he was super respectful everywhere we went. If there was a spot that wasn't cool with the locals to film at, he would totally understand that and be more than happy to put the camera down and enjoy the moment.
What makes surfing in Ireland so special?
There are a number of things that make surfing in Ireland so special. The obvious answer is our amazing waves. But it's so much more than that. The struggle is real when you're chasing waves here. In the depths of winter, with little daylight, you're hopping fences and trudging through fields in the howling wind and sideways rain. Taking off your clothes outside and putting on a 6mm wetsuit, hood, gloves and boots in those conditions is less than ideal but it's all in the hope of perfect waves.
As most people know, Ireland often has four seasons in a day so our forecasting sites can be way off the mark with what's going to happen. Waking up at the crack of dawn with all of your faith put on a perfect chart you read the night before can be disheartening when you pull up and the wind is howling onshore. But on the rare occasion when everything lines up, it is truly magical. Like nowhere else in the world.
I grew up obsessing over videos of Fergal and Tom Lowe paddling huge waves out there years ago and dreamt of surfing waves like that someday. To be sitting beside him on a sunny, perfect and huge paddle day was incredible.
Is there any big wave surfer that you particularly admire?
I grew up watching Fergal Smith push the boundaries of European surfing so he is still one of my favourite surfers. I've been friends with Fergal for years but I got the privilege of getting to know him a little better during the filming of Made In Ireland. He gave me a tour of his board collection, stored in the rafters of a barn connected to the kitchen on his farm, each stick with an amazing tale attached to them. I also got to surf Mullaghmore with him for the first time last winter, which was one of the most amazing feelings I've had in surfing. I grew up obsessing over videos of Fergal and Tom Lowe paddling huge waves out there years ago and dreamt of surfing waves like that someday. To be sitting beside him on a sunny, perfect and huge paddle day was incredible.
The Irish surfing community is made up of inspiring characters, you must have some great stories from filming with this crew. Could you share one with us?
Yea we're very lucky to have a cool crew of humble and talented individuals here in Ireland. I think one of the most heart-warming stories from the winter would have to be the resurgence of the manic Shambles McGoldrick after a horrific wipeout the year before.
Shambles was surfing a remote and very shallow wave below steep cliffs with no ambulance access one evening in late winter, 2017. He free fell on a crazy, below sea level mutant and got drilled into the reef. He snapped his femur and was rescued by Ferg and Mickey Smith. Carrying Shambles back across the slippery reef and up through the muddy fields wasn't an option. Clem Mc Inerney called the Coast Guard who came and airlifted Shambles from the base of the cliffs. An astonishing rescue to say the least. He was in agony and couldn't surf for months.
In true Shambles fashion, his first surf back was the winter past at a shallow slab at home. He was taking it easy but you could tell he had an itch that needed scratching. A couple of sessions later and he was back out at Mullaghmore absolutely charging. His first surf back out there and he got the wave of the day. It was so inspiring to see him come back from such a traumatic experience and go as hard as he did before the injury. Everybody in the line up was over the moon to see him back at it. That session set the tone for the next few big swells.
