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World | Diving Ireland:
Ireland overview
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Scuba Diving in Ireland
Water temperature: |
Ranges from 7°C (45°F) in winter warming up in early spring to a maximum of about 15°C (59°F) in August and September |
Suit: |
A drysuit is recommended, although a 7mm semi dry can also be worn |
Visibility: |
On the Atlantic coast visibility ranges from about 5 to 30 metres (15 - 100 feet) but it can fall below this in the Irish Sea |
Type of diving: |
Wrecks, gullies, caverns, drifts, shore dives |
Marine life: |
There are the slightly rarer opportunities for sighting dolphins, porpoises, minke whales and basking sharks down to the more common sightings of wrasse, sea urchin, anemones etc |
When to go: |
The dive season generally starts around March and ends around October due to adverse weather and sea conditions. May to September offer the most pleasant conditions, although July and August are busy with holiday makers meaning prices increase for travel and accommodation |
How to get there: |
From the UK - Ferries run from Holyhead to Dublin and from Pembrokeshire to Rosslare. There are also ferry services to places like Fishguard and Cork. Flights are available from airports around the UK to Dublin, Cork and Shannon. There are some budget airline flights available to all three airports |
Ireland is a beautiful country filled with history, tradition and wonderful scenery and is a country where you simply have to explore the outdoors. It has over 5,600 kilometres of coastline with inspiring natural beauty alongside an abundance of bird life and seal colonies. There are also hundreds of lakes and rivers that combined with the coastline make Ireland an outstanding place to visit, whether it is for walking, site seeing or diving. The climate is temperate and generally mild, but often very wet! Its location on the edge of the Atlantic means it takes the brunt of the weather before it disperses over the rest of Europe.
The capital of Ireland is Dublin, which is a vibrant and friendly city and is well worth a visit. If your entry point into Ireland is through Dublin, then it would be worth spending time here before travelling on to wherever you are diving. It may also be nice to combine a dive trip with some fishing, cycling, horse riding or boating so that you can make the most of your time in Ireland.
The beauty of above the surface continues underwater with interesting sea floor topography of rocks, inlets and pinnacles. Diving in Ireland can be fantastic, but conditions are not always ideal. Visibility can be great, reaching over twenty metres and averaging about twelve metres. Ireland's clear waters are a haven for fish with plenty of lobsters and crabs thrown in. The kelp forests and richly populated waters make it a great location for photographers. Tides and currents mean local knowledge is often essential, so ask skippers or dive centres before you get in the water. There is an abundance of wreck diving and many wrecks have interesting histories to them although there are often a variety of rumours and tales about their sinking. Many of the wrecks in Ireland are broken up by the winter storms, so you may have to venture a little deeper in order to find a more intact wreck.
Getting to Ireland is becoming very cheap and easy with a whole selection of budget flights available as well as numerous ferry journeys. Once on Ireland it is possible to use public transport and taxis to get about, but if you plan to cover any large distances it may be cost effective if you hire a car or take your own with you. There is accommodation for all budgets raging from luxury to basic with reasonably priced bed and breakfasts, hotels, hostel, cottages and farmhouses to rent and an abundance of camp sites. And don't forget to sample a pint of stout in one of the many traditional Irish pubs. The currency in Ireland is the euro.
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