Diving the Barrier Reef, diving the Mediterranean, diving...Ireland? Chloe shares her story of diving the West Coast of Ireland, and tells you the reasons why this is an experience not to miss out on.

Having grown up on a farm in the midlands, Chloe has always had an interest in animals, the outdoors and nature. Now, undertaking her Bachelor’s degree in science, Chloe joined the SubAqua college club in Galway to learn how to scuba dive.

“I never thought I’d be able to go underwater. Through the college club you get the training sessions and theory you need to get started. I was instantly hooked and got addicted to the feeling of diving and today I am captain of the club.”

This past year has been a tough one for any college diver longing to get back into the water. As the pandemic hit, carpooling and organised dive trips have not been allowed.

“Normally, I would go diving every week or two weeks, until my money runs out. This last year has been a write off, but I recently was able to go diving again for the first time since last summer which was incredible!”

Overall, Chloe has done over 70 dives in Ireland, and feels comfortable in her diving.

“I cannot wait to get even more confident and learn more about diving. I would love to become an instructor, which is my plan for the near future. When you are more educated, you feel more empowered and that is what I’m striving for.”

For Chloe, diving is a form of escapism.

“You are entering a place that not many people have been. Also, no one can annoy you underwater, you are completely left to enjoy your solitude.”

Furthermore, learning and developing your skills as a diver is something that Chloe loves about the activity.

“It is a very motivating sport as you constantly build your skillset and ability as a diver. On every dive, you will see something different or your body will react differently, so you are constantly learning. Even though I get very disappointed and angry after a bad dive, a bad dive will teach you even more than a good dive will.”

There are a range of skills that you learn as a diver which Chloe emphasises are useful in other aspects of your life as well. 

“You need to learn how to communicate without speaking, and learn how to use hand signals. Also, the feeling of weightlessness is very humbling and you feel small in a nice way. Us humans think we are so important generally but when you are diving it is hard to stay cocky whilst swimming with giants.”

Varying Experiences

Furthermore, Chloe emphasises the great variety of experiences that diving offers, as even diving the same spot several times will not make for the same experience.

“No two dives are ever the same, even at the same spot. Every aspect matters when you are diving and influences the experience, you might have eaten something different for breakfast than the last time so that your suit fits differently, the weather conditions might be different, and you will see different things. Also, the time of day can make the same spot feel completely different as I love to go diving at night.”

Chloe’s first dive in Ireland is a diving experience which is hard to beat.

“My first time diving in Ireland was in Co. Clare. This is where I’ve dived the most. There is this spot where we camp, and you’re surrounded by cliffs, blue water, horses in a green field stretching all around you which heightens the whole experience. The diving is incredible too, you go through a letterbox when you dive in, and I turned upside down looking up at the rock walls and I completely forgot about everything else and was just amazed.”

The wildlife experience is an abundant one when diving in Ireland as well.

“I have played with octopuses, however, only in cases when they interact with me first. Another time, a scorpion fish sat on my boyfriend's hands, and he gave it to me by opening his hands so it floated down. It looked me straight in the eyes and then darted towards me and sat on my shoulder. It was just incredible.”

When diving in Ireland, there are a variety of wildlife and aspects of nature that you could see.

“For example, there are basking sharks, seals, dolphins, octopus, cuttlefish, and scorpion fish in these waters. There are also dogfish, which are tiny sharks who will let you rub them or tickle their belly! My favourite fish is the male cuckoo wrasse as it is rainbow coloured and very tropical looking, absolutely spectacular. I think it is really important to change the narrative of portraying sea life as something very aggressive. In my experience, if you respect them, they respect you back. The only creature I am actually scared of is the conger eel as it has got very bad eyesight and frightens easily, and when it gets frightened it bites and gets stuck on its prey as it has got a locking mechanism in its jaw. But I realise that even this fear is an irrational one as this very rarely happens to divers.”

Cold Water Diving

The main thing scaring many aspiring divers off in Ireland is the cold water. However, to Chloe, this makes the experience even greater.

“Cold water diving is cool, you only need to use the right equipment and get past that mental block. When you use a full dry suit you wear clothes underneath and only your hands and head get wet. The important thing to remember is to keep a close eye on your buddies as someone might be embarrassed to say that they are cold.”

To Chloe, the only way to know whether cold water diving is really as horrible as you might imagine it to be, is to try it out.

“The only bad thing that might happen is that you will discover that it is not for you. Trying it out can be the best or worst thing that ever happened to you, depending on the balance of your bank account because if you fall in love, you will be spending all of your money exploring this whole new world. The fact is that you miss out on experiencing 70% of this world if you stay out of the water, and you can miss out on something that you might love.”

Diving Ireland

Not only the cold water, but also the challenging conditions in general, tend to make divers overlook Ireland as a diving destination. This is something that Chloe would like to change.

“Ireland is a very quiet diving destination, which makes the experience feel all the more special. The challenging conditions mean that if you learn how to dive in Ireland, you will be able to dive anywhere. If you feel scared about the wind or currents, it is great for your learning curve to start diving in Ireland. If you learn how to dive in very tranquil waters, those things will make you react very strongly when they happen. Ireland is amazing both over- and underwater and it would be a shame to miss out on this incredible world that is underneath the surface when exploring Ireland.”