#Surfing - Could Lahinch be Ireland's 'surf city'? That's the aim of a group of local surfing entrepreneurs, according to the Irish Examiner.
More than a 18 months after the Co Clare coastal town was battered by unprecedented winter storms, Lahinch is well and truly in recovery mode, writes Gordon Deegan, with the beachside surfing and surf-school industry leading the charge.
Indeed, local hotelier Michael Vaughan says the sport is worth "around €2.5 million a year to the area" though he hastened to add that facilities are still lacking, with few changing areas – and one long-term surfing business only recently graduating up from temporary premises.
That's Ben’s Surf School, whose proprietor Ben Bennett lost the van that was his previous base of operations to flooding in last year's storms.
Months later, however, Bennett decided to invest in a dedicated brick-and-mortar office which doubles as an indoor activity centre, and he now employs a staff of 10 instructors, including top surfer Ollie O'Flaherty.
Ollie himself is the subject of a new video shot by Kevin Smith, via The42.
'Winter Glow' lets the big wave contender explain what attracts him to the west coast's surf over breathtaking footage of him riding a number of spectacular waves.
Still, surfers in Portrush will argue that they have big waves to match, and the best of the best will be showing off their skills this coming weekend (29-30 August) at the Causeway Coast Surf Festival, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.
