Why dive here?

We’re always getting asked why we dive in Ireland.

Everyone assumes it’s cold, dark, and there’s nothing to see. If that were true, we’d have packed up long ago and moved to the Red Sea, or taken up golf.

 

Isn’t it cold?

Well, OK, in winter the water’s around seven degrees, which is not a lot warmer than your fridge. But that rockets to a balmy 15 or 16 degrees in high summer, and with the sun breaking the stones, you’ll be in the mood for a refreshing dip by then.

And happily for today’s divers, a good wetsuit, or – even better – a drysuit will keep you nice and warm.

 

And dark?

If you dive in Dublin Bay in the winter storm season, you won’t see your hand in front of your face.

But once the weather calms down, it’s a different story. Go out west and you can have great underwater visibility, and enough sunlight not to need a torch at 50 metres.

 

What is there to see?

Everything from enormous basking sharks to tiny jewel anemones.

Ireland’s waters have reefs encrusted with weird, wonderful and vividly-coloured life, with shoals of fish and the occasional playful seal or dolphin.

The underwater scenery can be breathtaking, and there are historical wrecks strewn around the coasts.

Even sitting up top in the boat, you’ll see huge seabird colonies around the off-shore islands, and – if lucky – a breaching whale or two.

 

Want to know more?

Have a look around the site and especially at our Dive Guide, which tells you about all the sites we dive in Ireland, and at our growing gallery of diving photos.

Hopefully that’ll give you some idea of what’s going on underwater around our shores.