The Fireball is a high performance two-person sailing dinghy offering exciting sailing, intense competition and a great social life off the water. For all the latest Fireball news click here. The thrills of trapeze and spinnakers are hard to match in any type of sailboat or board and neither age nor gender determines your ability to be competitive.

Fireballers sail all year round – during the Winter at the DMYC Frostbites in Dun Laoghaire and the during Summer at many events around the country and the DBSC Tuesdays and Saturdays again in Dun Laoghaire. In addition there are active fleets in Clontarf, Killaloe and Dunmore East. If you would like to sail then get in touch with one of the following people who will help you find a spot!

Siobhan Hayes, Dun Laoghaire – tel: 087 205 8879
Hugh Johnson, Clontarf – tel: 087 659 3533
Cormac Bradley, General – tel: 086 814 3618
Owen Laverty, Dun Laoghaire – tel: 087 6107857
Richard Fox, Killaloe – tel: 087 248 4977
Brian O'Neill, Ballyhenry – tel: +44 7849 465124

Irish Fireball Association, c/o Margaret Casey, Secretary, 48 Riverside Drive, Churchtown, Dublin 14. Email: [email protected]

Afloat's Graham Smith wrote, in the One Design Class Review for the February/March 2009 issue:

"The Fireball has been written off so many times yet consistently defies all obituaries. In fact, it has grown slightly over the years to provide a national fleet in the region of 70 boats at 15 venues which tends to substantiate its claim of being one of the leading dinghy classes in the country.

Twenty-eight boats at the Nationals in Westport was a little down on the previous year but entries in the mid-20s for the other regional events would be considered more than satisfactory by a lot of other classes in this day and age.

Noel Butler and Seamus Moore of DMYC retained their national title in Mayo, won the Ulsters in Carlingford and also won the Traveller’s Trophy for consistency of results. Fifteenth overall in the 68-boat World Championships in Thailand was a highly creditable finish for the Dun Laoghaire duo.

Another Dun Laoghaire crew, Kenneth Rumball and Dave Moran, had a seventh overall at the Europeans in Belgium while, at home, Andy Pearce and Francis Rowan of the National YC won the Leinsters in Mullingar and the Skerries helm Simon McGrotty notched wins in the Munsters and Open Championships with two different crew. National Champions: Noel Butler and Seamus Moore, DMYC." 

 
There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

The West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association (WIORA) is a membership-based association for promotion and development of cruiser racing and cruising on the West Coast of Ireland. For all the latest WIORA news click here.

The association provides and promotes an annual programme of events, Inshore, Offshore and Coastal for cruiser racing, working closely with the various clubs along the western seaboard.

We have an exciting programme of events for 2009 for you to look forward to which includes the Irish Cruiser Racing Association – National Cruiser Championships and the West Coast Championships being hosted by Tralee Bay Sailing Club in June and, if that wasn’t enough, the OneSails McWilliam West Coast Super League which has being growing in popularity and going from strength to strength.

Please feel free to contact a representative of the association for any further information, their contact details can be found here

Simon McGibney, Commodore

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

Professional Association of Diving Instructors – PADI

PADI is the world’s leading scuba diving training organisation.

With more than forty years experience and 5,300 dive shops and resorts worldwide, PADI training materials and services let you experience scuba diving from nearly anywhere.

Scuba diving with PADI Instructors, Dive Centers and Resorts can help transform your life through education, experience, equipment and environmental conservation.

The PADI Story – Two Friends, a Bottle of Scotch and an Idea

It’s hard to believe that the world’s largest scuba diving training organisation was dreamt up by two friends in Illinois over a bottle of Johnny Walker in 1966.

PADI Co-Founders, John Cronin, a scuba equipment salesman for US Divers, and Ralph Ericson, an educator and swimming instructor, were concerned about the scuba diving industry. They felt that the current scuba certification agencies were unprofessional, didn’t use state of the art instruction and made it unnecessarily difficult for people to enter the sport. John and Ralph knew there had to be a safer, easy way for people to learn to breathe underwater.

In 1966, John brought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label and thirty dollars to Ralph’s Illinois apartment in Morton Grove. They decided it was time to start a scuba training organization. John insisted that the word ‘professional’ be in the name of the company. Ralph wanted an ‘association of diving instructors.’ After a few drinks, the acronym PADI was born.

The goal: Give more people a chance to enjoy the underwater world by offering relevant, instructionally-valid scuba diving training to create confident scuba divers who dive regularly.

In the early years, PADI grew slowly. By the late 1960s, PADI had 400 members and it was still a struggling entity. John Cronin had been promoted to Sales Manager at US Divers and had moved the family to Huntington Beach, California.

Cronin went to a huge National Sporting Goods Association show in New York City. While he was there, he met with Paul Tzimoulis, who later became the editor of Skin Diver Magazine. Paul suggested that PADI put the diver’s picture on the certification card. That was a strategic move that helped PADI’s eventual global recognition.

Cronin and Erikson hired Nick Icorn from US Divers’ engineering team, who worked with Erickson to develop a modular training program for the PADI Open Water Diver course. It started to catch on.

In the late 1970s and early 80s PADI began creating its own integrated, multi-media student and instructor educational materials for each course. This development spawned an incredible growth period for PADI and made it unique from other agencies.

By the late 1980s PADI was the leading scuba diving training organization in the world. With so many new people introduced to the activity, PADI felt a responsibility to teach divers about their interactions with the underwater environment. PADI had worked very hard over the years to keep the scuba diving industry as free from legislation as possible. Cronin knew the organization had a responsibility to protect the marine environment or risk the government doing so. John Cronin said: "We want to feel that our children, their children and generations to come will be able to enjoy the underwater world that has given us so much. There are so many significant problems facing mankind, but as divers, this is truly our cause. If scuba divers do not take an active role in preserving the aquatic realm, who will?"

Out of a true concern for the environment, the Project AWARE Foundation was formed.

PADI co-founder John Cronin passed away in 2003. His friend and PADI co-founder, Ralph Erickson, also passed away three years later. They proudly carried PADI’s torch for many years before they confidently put it in the hands of today’s generation, who continue to introduce the world to scuba diving.

PADI has issued more than millions of scuba certifications worldwide. There are more than 5,700 PADI Dive Shops and Resorts worldwide.

With close to 400 employees in PADI corporate offices around the world, PADI works hard to be the best partner to its members and is committed to:

1 Safe and responsible diver acquisition and retention
2 Quality member acquisition and retention
3 Financial prosperity
4 Worldwide alignment in message, products, systems and procedures

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

Professional Association of Diving Instructors – PADI

Cruising under sail along the coasts of Ireland has a long and colourful history, but it was not until 1929 that the Irish Cruising Club was brought into being to act as a co-ordinating body for seagoing amateur sailors in all parts of a country which had only recently been partitioned.

Cruising clubs already existed in other parts of the world, usually founded in cities by like-minded ICC 1st Committee mtg enthusiasts at winter gatherings. But the new organisation had given itself a special flavour by arranging to bring about its establishment through a cruise-in-company by a small flotilla of five yachts on the southwest coast of Ireland. The inaugural meeting was held in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay on the evening of Saturday July 13th 1929.

The leading inspiration for the establishment of the club came from Harry Donegan of Cork, supported by Billy Mooney of Dublin. Both were sailing enthusiasts of broad interests. Donegan was a founder member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, having taken third place in the inaugural Fastnet Race with his cutter Gull in 1925, while Mooney was to be a class winner in the same event with his ketch Aideen in 1947.

Thus, offshore racing was seen by many of the early members as an integral part of their activities, and by the 1960s the ICC was organising Ireland's biennial Admiral's Cup teams. But international sailing was becoming an increasingly complex business, and it was apparent that the health of the club would be best served by concentrating solely on cruising and the services the club provided for its members and the cruising community.

By the 1970s, the club's rules were undergoing revision, and in 1992 its purpose was clarified:

The objects of the Club shall be to associate sailing yachtsmen, to encourage cruising with particular emphasis on cruising off the Irish coast, to gather and publish information useful to yachtsmen concerning tides, tidal streams, harbours, anchorages, lights, navigational aids, shore facilities and such like, and to record and/or publish logs of cruises and passages undertaken by members.

Ever since 1929, the Club's members have worked voluntarily towards the production of Sailing Directions which today cover the entire coast of Ireland in two volumes. Sailing Directions for the South & West Coasts of Ireland - which began life as the South and Southwest Coast book edited by Harry Donegan in 1930 – was published in its Eleventh Edition in 2006, while the Tenth Edition of the East & North Coast Directions – originally published as the East Coast book in 1930 under the editorship of Billy Mooney – was published in 2003.

Since 1931, the Irish Cruising Club has organised log competitions, inaugurated by its premier award, the Faulkner Cup, donated by northern member James Faulkner. The publication of a privately circulated Annual collates the members' cruising narratives, and today the Annual has become a profusely-illustrated 150-page book, published in time for Christmas.

Women members have always had equal rights in the club, and the first to win the Faulkner Cup was Elizabeth Crimmins in 1934. In 1939, the winner was Daphne French, for a remarkable cruise to the far end of the Baltic Sea in a little boat called Embla. So although the Irish Cruising Club - which has no premises of its own - is essentially based around a membership in Ireland cruising the Irish coast, its activities have always included a significant outward-looking element.

The ICC now has many challenge trophies, and each year's award-winning cruises include major international and transoceanic ventures, including voyages into high latitudes. However, the club continues to be an amateur organisation without any professional administration, and in order to make this possible, membership is limited to 550, with applications being accepted each November for consideration at the Club's committee meeting in January.

This article was kindly contributed by ICC member, WM Nixon, and provided courtesy of the Irish Cruising Club

Irish Cruising Club, Email: [email protected] 

Have we got your club details? Click here to get involved

The Cruising Association of Ireland was set up with the aim of working with the Irish Sailing Association and the Royal Yachting Association [Northern Ireland], for the promotion and encouragement of cruising and of social union among its members. Click here for all the latest Cruising News.

The association was set up as a virtual association using internet based technology. This is a faster and more cost effective medium to use for communication, and internet users are unashamedly the main target for CAI membership.

The association has been established now for a number of years. In 2010 we are working towards a re-launch of this website at the end of the first quarter, and a new effort is being made in 2010 to establish cruising connections with the Yacht Clubs and Marina’s with a view to encouraging cruising Sailors to get out on the water.

 Development Areas

The Cruising Association of Ireland will focus on the development of the following areas in the coming year:

• Sharing of Information on cruising : Articles on Cruising topics, ports and destinations around the coast.
• Social Interaction among members : Promotion of Yacht Club talks of interest to Cruising Sailors, encouraging members to get out and cruise regularly in company.
• Events on and off the water : While the CAI does not “run” events directly, we will work with Yacht Clubs and Marina’s to encourage events of interest to Cruising Sailors. Click here for details of upcoming CAI Events.
• Representation: We will endeavour to work with statutory and non statutory authorities in resolving issues that affect cruiser sailors.

Cruising Association of Ireland, 22 St. Nessans Terrace, Dublin. Tel: +353 (0) 87 258 214, email: [email protected] 

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

Down Cruising Club is a small, friendly club of approximately 100 members, who are interested in all aspects of boating and cruising on Strangford Lough. The club is fortunate to be based at Ballydorn, on Strangford Lough, and to enjoy the unique facility of club headquarters in the form of the lightship "Petrel". A short history of the club and of the Lightship can be accessed. In addition the club enjoys the facility of Ballydorn Quay, constructed in the mid 19th century, and its associated historic quayside store, the 'Black Shed'.

Club members participate in a wide range of social events on board "Petrel", and water-based activities, including cruises both within and beyond Strangford Lough. An important feature of membership of the club is maintenance of the lightship itself, through regular work parties. The general ethos of 'hands-on' involvement transfers to all activities, and to regular duties in assisting the club's bar.

Down Cruising Club, c/o Clubship Petrel, 52 Ballydorn Road, Killinchy, Newtownards BT23 6QB. Tel: +4428 9754 1663

Our History

Operational Meteorology might be said to have begun in Ireland on 8 October 1860, when the first 'real time' weather observation was transmitted from Valentia Island in Co. Kerry. Valentia Observatory, as it came to be known, was one of a network of weather stations established around the Irish and British coastlines, by the naval authorities in London, to enable storm warnings to be provided for ships at sea.

For many years after Independence Ireland's needs, as far as weather matters were concerned, continued to be met by the British Meteorological Office. By the mid-1930's, however, it was clear that a new and exciting customer was on the way. It was the requirement to provide accurate weather information for transatlantic aviation that led to the formal establishment of an Irish Meteorological Service in 1936.

The first Director, Austen H. Nagle, was appointed in December of that year, and installed himself in the small offices in St. Andrew's Street in Dublin, which became the first Headquarters of the new Service. In April 1937, the administration of the existing observing network was taken over from the British Authorities; it comprised 4 telegraphic stations (at Malin Head, Blacksod Point, Roches Point and Birr), 18 climatological stations, 172 rainfall stations, and Valentia Observatory, which was the only station at the time to be manned by official personnel.

In its early stages, the new Service received continuing help from the British Authorities. This assistance was in the form of staff seconded from London to work at Foynes, in Co. Limerick, from where flying boats had just begun to operate. Included in their number were several who were later to become well known internationally; notably Hubert Lamb, the climatologist and Arthur Davies, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organisation for nearly 30 years. By 1941, however, the Service's own recruits had been fully trained, and the organisation was able to begin satisfying the increasing demands for weather information from its own resources.

Forecasting for aviation, first at Foynes and later at Shannon and Dublin Airports, was the major preoccupation of the early years. By the late 1940's, however, the Service had broadened its activities. In 1948, for the first time, it assumed responsibility for the weather forecasts broadcast by Radio Éireann, which had been provided from London in the interim. In 1952 it began to supply forecasts to the daily newspapers and 1961 saw the opening of the new Central Analysis and Forecast Office in the Headquarters premises, now housed at 44 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin. Live presentation by Met Éireann forecasters of the weather on Teilifis Eireann commenced in early 1962.

Radar Antenna at Shannon AirportThe late 1940's and the 1950's were a time of rapid expansion for the Service. This period saw the establishment of a balanced nation-wide network of observing stations, manned on a full-time basis by Meteorological Service personnel. The climatological and rainfall observing networks were greatly enhanced, thanks largely to the willing co-operation of the Garda authorities around the country and the assistance of other Government Departments and State-sponsored bodies. At Valentia Observatory, which had moved to a mainland site near Cahirciveen in 1892, upper air radiosonde measurements began and a wide range of geophysical measurements and environmental monitoring activities was introduced.

Meanwhile, the Service offered an expanding range of forecast and climatological information to the public and to specialised interests. A notable development was the inauguration of tape recorded telephone forecasts during the 1960's, the precursor of today's Weatherdial. The reception of satellite images began in the late 1960's at Shannon Airport and in the 1970's, the Meteorological Service might be said to have come of age by entering the computer era. Initially, the new machines were employed for communication purposes, but shortly afterwards the computers were used for the relatively new technique of numerical weather prediction.

Throughout its history, the Meteorological Service and its staff played an active role in the development of meteorology on the international scene. Ireland became a full member of the World Meteorological Organisation shortly after its establishment in the early 1950's and was later a founder member of both the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation, EUMETSAT. More recently, the Service has been active in the formation of other co-operative agencies like EUMETNET and ECOMET. Particularly beneficial to the organisation has been its membership since 1989 of HIRLAM, a co-operative venture between the Scandinavian countries and several other European Meteorological Services for the development of a numerical model for short-range forecasting.

Met eireann Headquarters ImageThe modern era of the Meteorological Service might be said to date from its occupation of the new Headquarters Building in Glasnevin in 1979, a development which for the first time allowed all the Dublin based Divisions to be housed under the same roof. It was around this time too, that the Service reached its peak in terms of staffing, with a total of 342 in 1980. The intervening years have seen a gradual reduction in staff numbers to the present level of 230, a development brought about mainly by the introduction of automated methods for many repetitive tasks, and by on-going review of our priorities with regard to weather observations.

Since the 1990s, in common with its sister organisations in most other European countries, the service has adopted a more commercial approach to the provision of services to its customers,in an effort to try to increase revenue and thus lighten the financial burden on the tax-payer. This spirit of commercial awareness, however, has been combined with an enhancement of the Service's public service role in areas where this has seemed desirable, most notably perhaps by the introduction of Severe Weather Alerts and by co-operation in the monitoring of stratospheric and tropospheric ozone

In March of 1996, its 60th year of operation, the Meteorological Service adopted the new title Met Éireann, with the aim of establishing a well-focused corporate identity in the public mind. Proud of its record of public service, its development of the national meteorological infrastructure and its contribution to the science of meteorology, Met Éireann looks forward with confident optimism to the challenges that lie ahead.

Directors of Met Éireann, 1936-present
1936-1948 Austen H. Nagle
1948-1964 Mariano Doporto
1965-1978 P.M. Austin Bourke
1978-1981 P. Kilian Rohan
1981-1988 Donal L. Linehan
1989-present Declan J. Murphy

Met Éireann Headquarters, Glasnevin Hill, Dublin 9

Tel: +353-1-8064200
Fax: +353-1-8064247
 
General Forecasting Division
Tel: +353-1- 8064255
Fax: +353-1- 8064275
Note: Provision of forecasts is subject to a fee.
 
Climate Enquiries Office
Tel: +353-1- 8064260
Fax: +353-1- 8064216
Note: Provision of services is subject to a fee.
 
Commercial Division
Tel: +353-1-8064244
Fax: +353-1-8064247
 
Freedom of Information Officer
Tel: +353-1-8064295
Fax: +353-1-8064275

Met Éireann Aviation Services, Shannon Airport Co. Clare
Tel: +353-61-712958
Fax: +353-61-712960
 
Met Éireann Valentia Observatory, Cahirciveen Co. Kerry
Tel: +353-66-9473460
Fax: +353-67-9472242

Met Eireann: Irish Meteorological Service, Glasnevin Hill, Dublin 9

The Irish Underwater Council is the national governing body for recreational underwater sports in Ireland. It was founded in 1963 to organise and promote sport scuba diving and snorkeling. At the time there were only six clubs but the sport has expanded over the years and now encompasses 84 clubs today distributed all over Ireland.

Training

The Irish Underwater Council courses provide today’s sports person with recreation and fun in a friendly environment while maintaining a safe and cautious attitude to Irish waters. We emphasise experience rather than theory. The basic objective of the training system is to demonstrate, teach and practice all the necessary abilities until the beginner is comfortable with the equipment and the basic safety skills. There is no pressure or time limits, the training is at your own pace.

Organisation

The council is administered by an Executive Committee comprising the directors of the organisation who are assisted by four commissions: Technical, Medical, Sporting & Scientific.

The Irish Underwater Council is affiliated to Confederation Mondiale des Activites Subaquatiques (CMAS) . This is the world federation of national diving organisations and operates in some 80 countries on all continents.

Irish Underwater Council, 78A Patrick Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Tel: 01 2844 601, fax: 01 2844 602, email: [email protected]