Making a splash

DISCOVERIRELAND.IE didn’t discover the latest tourist attraction but they’re hell bent on letting the world know about it — a wave that could make little old Ireland much larger in the growing world of surfing.

The world’s surfing radar honed in on the west of Ireland recently with the discovery of one of Europe’s biggest waves dubbed “prowlers” by the hardy surfers who ventured out on it. The experts are refusing to disclose its exact location (they have been waiting for five years for the perfect conditions to surf the wave), but say it breaks on an undersea reef about 2km off the west coast.

Aileen’s, the perfect wave at the base of the Cliffs of Moher that exploded on to the world’s surfing radar screen in recent years, would now appear to have a new rival as Ireland’s most spectacular surf spot. Needless to mention, the tourism body is spreading the news around the world in the hope that, in surfing terms, a country described as a “cold Hawaii” will attract more and more tourists interested in the sport.