In 1972, every international sporting event in Ireland was cancelled, except for one. Teams from around the world were terrified to travel to Ireland amid the height of The Troubles. The only group of athletes bold enough to risk traveling in Ireland at this turbulent time were surfers. From around the globe they descended upon the coastal village of Lahinch for the 1972 Eurosurf Championship, the largest surfing event in all of Europe and the competition that would put Irish surfing on the map. Here surfers from both sides of the divided island would forget about the civil strife and celebrate their shared love of the sport by riding Ireland’s majestic waves. Even surfers from England would defy their government’s intense pressure to boycott the event for the endless freedom of the ocean.
