The champion surfer who found God and opened a church in Co Clare

Searching for meaning in his life, champion surfer John McCarthy found God and opened a church, writes Brendan Daly.

Big-wave surfer John McCarthy is standing in front of a group of about 50 people.

Recognisable from an iconic bank advert that showed him surfing at the Cliffs of Moher, McCarthy is slender and tanned. He’s dressed in runners, jeans, and a check shirt and he wears an over-the-ear microphone.