Several dozen of the world’s top surfers have arrived on the Irish west coast to catch some of the biggest waves of the year.
Surfers are braving the storms and the waves at Mullaghmore Head, Co Sligo, with visitors arriving from California, Portugal and Spain to ride storm-lashed waves at various locations from Kerry to Donegal.
Waves of more than 10 metres occasionally rose to double the height with driving winds at Mullaghmore and off south Co Donegal coasts.
Irish Surfing Association chairman Henry Moore, (50), who travelled from his Tramore home to catch the Mullaghmore waves, suffered a gash to his face as his surf board snapped in the sea. He dismissed the injury as "only a scratch" as his board broke when he was paddling out.
Neil Britton from the Finn McCool Surf School in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal, also went surfing at Mullaghmore. He said: "People from California, South Africa and Portugal and other European countries contacted me. These are unprecedented waves and they would have checked the surf sites in advance before travelling.
“We’ve had some bigger waves in the past in Mullaghmore but these are also quite extraordinary. The big surf waves have probably peaked, but we can expect the visitors to stay around for a few days longer to catch more giant waves.”