Cian O'Sullivan, head lifeguard, Lahinch strand
Venomous weever fish, non-swimmers who paddle out of their depth on a board, and Baywatch jokes are all going to feature in Cian O'Sullivan's week as he faces into his busiest week of the year on Lahinch strand in Co Clare.
He is head lifeguard, and he and four other young men patrol the beach in shifts from 11am to 7pm. Whatever the weather next week, the beach will be busy. Surfers do not need sunshine. In fact, a low-pressure front sitting comfortably in the Atlantic brings the best waves, he says.
"You have to be vigilant. You're watching the water the whole time. You have plenty of people who've never been in the water before and head off on a surfboard or bodyboard. An offshore wind can take them out before they know where they are."
The beach is now zoned to separate swimmers and bodyboarders from surfers. "On a good day, nearly every second person in the water here is a surfer," O'Sullivan says.
The lifeguards are all trained swimmers who swim competitively. Last year their team won the Irish Surf Life-Saving Championships. "We keep fit in winter and we keep fit on the beach as well. When everyone on the beach is depending on you, you have a feeling of responsibility. We have two or three lifeguards patrolling the beach and one in the water the whole time."
A frequent hazard is the weever fish. It burrows into the sand, leaving just its dorsal with three or four spikes above for unsuspecting paddlers to step on. The pain affects people differently and can be excruciating. "You can have a grown man howling with it, and a little girl who is not so bothered. The poison breaks down in heat so we immerse the foot in water as hot as the person can bear to clean out the poison."
Later in the autumn he will go back to college in Limerick, where he is studying to be a science teacher.
