Big wave surfer Richie Fitzgerald
What was your best holiday?I've been around the world surfing, but the place that stood out most was Barbados. I used to go there for winter training and it was the ultimate contrast to the bleak, Donegal winter as I would arrive to white sand, blue water and palm trees. It is not in the top echelon of surfing and has easy to medium waves. But it was the overall experience that made Barbados a magic island. I hung out with locals and gained an intimate knowledge of it. It was a little like Ireland with its hidden nooks and crannies.
What was your worst holiday?Southwest France is my bogey area. It's the epicentre of the European surf industry but every time I went there I was unlucky with the weather. I went there for a contest 10 years ago and it was 17 degrees in Dublin but 14 degrees and raining in France. The last time I went, there were hailstones in September, so I've decided not to go there anymore.
If budget or work were no restriction, what would be your dream holiday?A lifelong dream holiday, which I did, was to the island of Sumatra. In surfing terms it is amazing. We chartered a boat and went way out to a secluded island a few days' sail away. It felt like Jurassic Park. You were 12 hours sail to the nearest port, another eight hours to the nearest airport, and totally disconnected. I'd also love to go to the Maldives for a nice, easy holiday with my family – to one of those wooden cabins on stilts out in the ocean.
Who would you bring on holiday with you if you had your pick?Definitely my wife and daughter. There are also a few guys I go surfing with, like my friend Patrick O'Donnell who is the ultimate outdoorsman. If you woke him up at 6am for a snorkel he'd jump in the lake. He's very sharp and doesn't miss flights, but so laidback he's horizontal.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?West coast villages like Bundoran, Strandhill and Lahinch, where tourists come not for the amazing old villages but the surrounding area. I'm Bundoran's biggest fan. This pocket of south Donegal doesn't have towns like Doolin, but it has mountains, lakes, oceans and beaches and is fantastic.
Your recommended holiday reading?I always save a Paul Howard book for my holidays, they are hilarious. I'm reading his book, Triggs, at the moment. We get a lot of Leinster rugby fans up here surfing and while no one is like Ross O'Carroll-Kelly I can see fragments of him.
Where will you go to next?We're going to Spain as my daughter is six months old, so we're not going to do an adventure-based holiday. In January, I'll go surfing at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia. My wife is Australian and says I'm like a dog as, if I get on the beach for an hour a day, I'm happy.
In conversation with
GENEVIEVE CARBERY
Richie Fitzgerald is giving lessons as part of an August 31st weekend package at Inchydoney Lodge and Spa. Tel: 023-883 3143, inchydoneyisland.com