A weekend with Richie Fitzgerald

   You can join Richie this weekend for an exclusive surf lesson and relive the moment that he conquered the biggest swell (60ft+) ever attempted in Ireland with a screening of award winning documentary ‘Waveriders’, on one of the most famous surfing beaches in Ireland at Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa Clonakilty, West Cork on the last weekend in August.

   Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the award winning Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa invites surfers and adventure movie buffs to join them for a special weekend package combining ‘Surfing & Movies on the Beach’ on the weekend of the 31^st, August.

   The exclusive package includes two nights bed and breakfast in the four star  hotel, a private group surfing lesson on the scenic Inchydoney strand with Irish Surfing Champion, Richie Fitzgerald, a BBQ in the hotel before the screening of "Waveriders".

Guests will arrive on the afternoon of Friday 31^st, August and depart on Sunday, 1^st September. The package is available exclusively from the hotel and is priced at €199 per person sharing. For more information or to make a reservation please visit www.inchydoneyisland.com or call 023 8833143

Richie casually cruising on an average size day @ Mullaghmore

   Richie is one of the most humble surfers I have ever met. Richie owns and runs "Surfworld" in Bundoran and has just opened another shop in Strandhill, he also runs surf schools in Bundoran and on top of all that he charges big surf. If you ever ask him about any big waves he surfed he always plays it down but when you look at what he has accomplished it's pretty darn amazing. With tow partner Gabe Davies they were one of the first to pioneer big waves in Ireland. In particular the ferocious beast Mullaghmore, a wave that is known worldwide to break people.

  Richie and Gabe were part of the crew that surfed the massive 13m swell that ended up in the movie "Waveriders", a story that focuses on Irish surfing roots and some incredible footage of the biggest surf ever surfed in Ireland to this day! The movie got global applause winning 2008 Audience Choice Award from the "Jameson Dublin International Film Festival" and Best Documentary Award at the "2009 SURFER Poll & Video Awards".

  If I was in Ireland I'd be going to this myself, I think it's a fantastic weekend offer with alot of bonuses. Did you know that Richie fractured his ribs on one of the first waves ridden one session we had out at Mullaghmore, he went and sat on the boat for a while not saying much to anyone about the pain he was in. A couple of hrs later he couldn't bear it anymore watching these waves going past so he grabbed the rope again and pulled into this wave pictured above...respect.

Aaron