Two Ulladullamen and an Irishman walk into a bar. Nope, not a sick joke, but a fairly regular occurrence ever since Russel Bierke first travelled to Ireland back in 2017.
“There are only a few surf spots around the world that I’ve really clicked with. And Ireland is one of them,” said Russ. “It doesn’t come easy. On this last trip, we had a handful of good days over two months, but also had two weeks where we couldn’t even get in the water. But when the payoff happens, and you score world-class waves, it is so worth it. It’s such a challenge and, so you get a great sense of achievement. You’re battling the elements, not the crowds. And I’ve made so many great friends there.”
One of those friends is Conor Maguire. Maguire was born and bred in Bundoran. His Dad worked the land, just as his father and grandfather had. Conor and his six siblings split their time between the farm and The Driveways Bar, a pub on the coast that his grandmother ran for 40 years. “I’m short, just 5’6”, but Gran was way smaller than me, and a hundred times scarier,” he laughed.
As a small child, Conor would do day trips in the summer to Mullaghmore Harbour, located 10 miles south of his home in Bundoran. "I remember being drawn to the waves washing over the rock pools, and my sister pulling me away from the ocean. She’d scold me, warning me that the sea was dangerous," said Maguire. "It’s mad to think 25 years on, I’m riding some of the biggest waves on the planet out there and that it has shaped my life. To be fair, she had a point.”
When Conor started surfing, there were only a handful of locals. He progressed from getting mini fun barrels at The Peak and Black Spot to surfing the heavier, steeper waves like Pampa and G-spot. “The waves get crazier as you head south. Eventually, you run out of road and end up at the crazy beast that is Mullaghmore.”
Conor remembers paddling out for the first time at Mully in 2009, aged 16, along with a mate. Looking back, he thinks it was reckless, or stupid, probably both as they watched 12-to-15-foot waves run down the jagged reef. They had no ski or safety equipment, and they hadn't told anyone their plans. Over time, though, his efforts would soon gain international recognition and open up a pathway to becoming a professional surfer. He has so much respect for his brothers, who have taken over the family farm, but surfing provided a means to explore a wider world through his dedication to the ocean at home.
“On a recent paddle day, there were 40-plus surfers at Mully, which was unthinkable even a few years ago,” said Conor. “But that means we get to surf and test ourselves against some of the most technically gifted and hardest charging surfers in the world. And all the locals are more than holding their own. They are on the peak, calling the shots.”
Russ isn’t a local, but having done his time, Ireland is a happy place. It’s also perhaps no surprise that Conor and Russ struck up a friendship. The pair prefer to let their surfing do most of the heavy lifting, and while reserved and respectful on land, they have the calculated minds of pure psychos when it comes to surfing massive slabs. Conor has travelled extensively to Australia and posted up regularly in Ulladulla. There, Russ, and his best mate, Sean “Mullet” Mawson, have reciprocated the hospitality and shown the Irishman their heaviest slabs, best beachies and favourite watering holes.
Mawson, however, is cut from slightly different cloth. Unlike Bierke and Maguire, Mullet doesn’t live for oversized slabs and death-defying bombies, even if he’s spent a better part of his surfing life being dragged out to plenty of those sessions by Bierke. He is, though, a supremely talented tube rider, but also an incredible aerialist, with a power rail game, all done on boards he handshapes from scratch. Bierke called him the best surfer to ever come out of the South Coast; no small claim.
“What I love to surf the most is six-foot lefts with big pits,” said Sean. “In this clip from Ireland, if there is anything over eight feet and it’s a goofy, that’s Conor. Russ and him are certified, A-grade maniacs. I’m merely a spectator and usually trying to figure out why I’ve let Russ get me into trouble again.”
“Our surfing styles are the complete opposite,” agrees Bierke. “He was a couple of years older and got his license before me, and I just used to heckle him to drive south to go surf the slabs. But when it comes to performance surfing, he’s pretty nuts. He’s so smooth rail to rail, and it’s rare that you see him have a bad surf.”
It’s a combination of personalities, styles, friendship, talent and waves that just works on land and in the water. The trio don’t run on ego or likes, but a sense of connection with the waves and the community that surfs them.
“We all love surfing and having a laugh,” finished Conor. “Sharing my hometown’s waves with my best mates is a privilege. Getting barrelled is a bonus. And always in Ireland, it’s all about the Craic.”
Words: Ben Monday
An Altered State Production presented by Ocean & Earth
Edit - Andrew Kaineder
Cinematography - Clem McInerney, Joao Tudella, Andrew Kaineder, James Kates.
Music - R.M.F.C, MFV, The M1
🤝 TRUSTED by surfers for a lifetime.
🦘 Born in Australia.