In 1949, 14-year-old Joe Roddy, the son of a Dundalk lighthouse keeper, launched his home-made surfboard – a four-metre paddle-board made mostly from discarded tea chests and coated with sturdy lighthouse paint – and became the first person to surf a wave in Ireland. Now, blessed with our wild and wonderful stretches of coastline, we have garnered an illustrious reputation as a surfing nation. Some 60 years after his inaugural triumph, Roddy will take to the waves once again using an exact replica of this original board, and we’re all invited to paddle out and join him.
The T-Bay Summer Solstice party kicks off tomorrow with a beach barbecue at 11am, continues with a series of longboard, women’s open and junior contests before the grand finale is signalled by Joe’s return to the sea. For further details contact the T-Bay Surf Eco Centre, Tramore, Co Waterford at 051-391297 or info@surftbay.com. Joe Roddy is pictured left with members of the Irish surfing Hall of Fame (l. to r. ) Alan Duke, Eamon Matthews, Hugh O’Brien-Moran and David Smythe.