Die Collage ist viel aussagekräftiger als es jede geschriebene Einleitung für das folgende Interview mit Richard Fitzgerald -ehemaliger Pro-Surfer, Big-Wave-Pionier Irlands und mittlerweile stolzer Familienvater, je sein könnte.
Bei genau dem hatten wir uns für unseren Surftrip in Irland ausgestattet? Ganz genau. So sah vor ein paar Jahren der Auftakt zu unserem Irland-Urlaub aus, als mein Freund und ich mit neuen Second-Hand-Boards, Wax und Tipps zu passenden Spots in der Nähe auf Wellensuche gingen. Richie ist nämlich Inhaber und Geschäftsführer eines der (tatsächlich wenigen) Surfshops in Irland, genauer gesagt in seiner Heimatstadt Bundoran. Das Buch, das an der Kasse auslag und mich direkt wegen des Innenteils mit Archiv-Fotos angesprochen hatte, war übrigens auch von ihm. Da ich mich nicht gut mit Profisurfern auskenne und auch eher einer anderen Generation angehöre, hatte ich natürlich nicht so schnell geschnallt, bei wem wir da gerade am Shoppen waren, und die Gunst der Stunde, in einem Gespräch mehr über Richie zu erfahren, verpasst. Nach einer kurzen Geschichtsstunde zur irischen Surfszene der 90er und 2000er Jahre wollte ich die Chance, mit Richie ein Interview zu führen, allerdings trotzdem nutzen.
Als wir das nächste Mal Surfwold Bundoran besuchten, war Richie dummerweise schon auf dem Weg nach Australien., Den Winter verbringt er mit seiner Familie im Heimatland seiner Frau und den Sommer auf der smaragdgrünen Insel. Da man sich auch remote ganz gut austauschen kann, ist das Interview per Video-Call doch noch zustande gekommen. Besser spät als nie!
Da wir das Interview auf Englisch geführt haben, lassen wir es im Original:
Talking about culture in surfing
No need to say that the surf culture you grew up with is the one influenced by the cold climate. In which way would you say it enriches a surfer's experience, in and outside the water?
Ireland is an ancient country with a rich culture stretching back millennia. Our layers of history and culture are especially prevalent on the west coast where I grew up. This sense of Irishness and what it means filters into all walks of society including sport. So, growing up as an Irish surfer on the west coast had a unique culture all of its own driven by the world class waves, coastal environment but most especially the people of the area, they make the surfing experience special. Surfing in Ireland is very different to anywhere else I have experienced.
Talking about influences, would you say the Irish culture, in terms of its music, literature, lifestyle, history etc. is reflected in surfing and other aspects that surround this sport?
Definitely Irish culture from literature, language, history, storytelling, humour and especially music are ingrained in Irish surfing at every level you can imagine. There is a deep musicality to Irish people and Irish society. I have always felt that the sea, waves and surfing have a musicality to it. This musicality binds particularly well to and with our coast, its people and our surfing culture. Irish surfing would not exist or have developed in its unique way without it being heavily influenced by all our cultural landscape.
With your book “Cold Water Eden” you contribute your part to this culture around surfing. What made you decide to write it? What was the biggest challenge and what did you enjoy most during the creation process?
I have always loved books and read a lot. Of course, reading does not make you a good writer but it has kept me curious my whole life. During 2020 I had been writing surfing history articles for a local online historical site. My pieces were well received at the time so my wife Briohny said to me “you really should put all these stories into a book”. So that was the genesis of me writing a book. It started as a collection of stories and developed into a biography “Cold Water Eden” which got published in 2022 by Harper Collins.
You spend half of the year with your family in Australia, a place quite different to Ireland. With which waves and wave riding culture do you identify more and why?
I do split half my time between Victoria in Australia and Donegal in Ireland. My wife is Australian so it’s a great mix of countries especially for my children they get the best of both. For me though I will always be an Irish surfer and identify completely with Irish surf culture.
Talking about waves, surfing and competitions
Talking about waves: When I read your book I had to laugh, because you say that your first impression about surfing was more something like “too much effort for too little reward”. That attitude changed pretty soon though, and, considering that you’re one of Ireland's pioneers in big wave surfing, also quite a lot. You could probably say it turned towards the opposite. What is it about riding big waves that triggered you, and how did your attitude towards it evolve?
Surfing is a hard sport. The hardest sport in the world to get to a good level at in my opinion. As a child my initial interaction with surfing was not pleasant. As a child always went to the beach, I was just very attracted to it. I was good swimmer and bodyboarder too. I loved the sea but having this massive surfboard attached to ankle and getting bashed by waves was not appealing. However, it wasn’t long before the lure of surfing cast its spell and I was hooked for life.
I always liked big waves and enjoyed that feeling of the immense power of the sea and my insignificance within it. I was also blessed growing up in Bundoran. Bundoran and the coastal area of south Donegal/north Sligo have some of the best waves in the world. I suppose the cherry on top are the big waves of Mullaghmore and the surrounding area. So, for me there was this whole playground of world class big waves to be explored and surfed. At the time no surfers had ventured out to waves Mullaghmore so it had that extra pioneering attraction for me as well.
How does surfing feel different to you in big waves compared to normal size or even fantasy size waves (which is what I call the tiny ones no one even considers as waves, you can still catch though with the right board)?
You know I’m recognised for my big wave exploits but I enjoy small waves just as much. Its two different ways and approaches to surfing. Out in big waves there is the ever-present danger element to it. You have to win the phycological battle too when you are surfing big waves. Small waves if you want to surf them dynamically takes a lot of skill from generating speed to control on turns. I love the challenge of both.
Is the Richie Fitzgerald pro surfer in competitions a different one than Richie Fitzgerald who goes out to free surf at his home spot? And is there also a third one, who gets into the water with his kids?
I have changed a lot in my surfing especially in the last 10 years. I turn 52 years old this year so I’m just happy most of the time to be fit and healthy and able to surf with my children. I get real satisfaction out if being able to teach them everything that I know. I suppose as you get older you realise that is what life is all about really, doing your best and passing on your knowledge.
Back when I did contests and big wave stuff, I was different and looked at surfing very differently. I constantly wanted to improve and go bigger. I have worked in and experienced pretty much every avenue in surfing so I know the good from the bad. I’m more reflective now and thankful to be still surfing a shortboard.
For you, what was the best part and what the worst part about competitive surfing?
I’m sure any sports person will tell you the worst is losing, or underperforming when it matters. Of course, the best is winning. However, there were other elements for me in contest surfing. The friends I made and the places I got to see looking back now they were the highlights for me.
Surfing now and then - How do you see the big wave surf scene now compared to when you started?
Well put quite simply when myself and Gabe Davies started to surf waves like Mullaghmore there was no big wave scene in Ireland. We pioneered many of the big wave spots and spent years out there by ourselves.
Now there is a fully fledged big wave scene in Ireland especially in the northwest. All the world’s best big wave surfers come to Donegal/Sligo/Clare every year to surf our waves. They mix with the local talent. Irish surfers like Gearoid McDaid and Conor McGuire have established themselves as the best big wave surfers in the water, so for me that’s really important. It is always great to see the locals shining bright amongst the world’s best surfers.
Your shop Surfworld is a family business that you started back in 1990, in fact it surprised me that having so many waves in Ireland all over the place, there’s not really many surf shops. To me, they have the potential of a local institution that can shape the form this sport grows into in a certain place, especially for example at the time you started surfing and material was hard to get in your area. How did you take part in creating a local surfing scene through Surfworld? On the other hand, how did, or do, you deal with the shift of more and more people buying online?
When we started Surfworld in 1990 it was out of necessity as much as any business opportunity. You could not even buy wax in the area, so for myself and my brother and sisters it was as much about getting gear for ourselves as it was about selling it.
Retail stores are tricky especially now with all the online options so we still have to evolve every year to keep the doors open. Offering the customer a tangible experience buying surf equipment, something that you don’t experience online. Surfing as a commercial industry in Ireland and every other country has had its boom and bust. It’s in a hard market place at the moment for surf companies’ worldwide and surf businesses but I believe there is always a need for local surf shops on the coast.
If you could time travel, which period out of all surfing history (time and place) would you like to experience yourself, or re-live if it is one of your own life, and why?
For me I loved the 90’s it was a fantastic decade of growth and exploration in Irish surfing. Anything seemed possible and surfing was exploding in popularity in Ireland. It was a simpler time too so I would love to re-live some of those experiences I had in the 1990’s.
Quick questions & answers:
Favourite soundtrack for big waves? And small waves?
I could write a chapter on this question alone. 90’s dance music for small waves and AC/DC for the big stuff.
Which shapers’ board - out of all the shapers in surf history - would you like to surf?
I suppose Californian shaper Al Merrick (Channel Island (CI) surfboards) would be my favourite boards from any era. Funnily enough I’ve only ever owned two of his boards over my life. If I could have boards from anyone it would be CI. It was the era of the late 80’s and 90’s I grew up surfing in they were the boards to have. Everyone wanted to surf like 3 times world champ Tom Curran on his CI boards.
Which character - in general can be anyone famous or not, dead or alive, fiction or real - would you have a blast going to surf with?
I would give anything to surf with my school surfing buddies and original Bundoran 80’s-90’s crew again. Unfortunately, only a handful of us surf anymore, some haven’t surfed in decades, some are no longer with us. If I could wish for one surf session that would be it, the fun and laughs were as good as the waves.
You’ve written a book, if you’d make your own surf film, imagine all expenses are covered so no limits, what would that be about?
I think adapting any surf book into a script and film is a very different process to just writing it. Fortunately, over the last 6 years I have worked on a few scripts for other writers and production companies which I have enjoyed. I would love to do my own some day and make it realistic without all the surfing cliche and stereotypes. I honestly feel no theatrical film release has captured surfing yet.
How many types of surfing have you gone through throughout your surfing life? And which ones are your favourites? (Everything counts, short, long, knee, body…)
I just really love shortboarding and have focused on that all my life. It’s by far the hardest form of surfing to master and you will truly never master it all. So that’s the challenge everyday unlocking the waves and doing your best surfing no matter what the conditions. I have longboarded a few times but I find it pretty boring. I do like to bodyboard when the waves are big and closing out especially big shore break waves, it's mental.
Thanks a lot for your time, Richie, and all the best for you and your family!
//Credits:
Text & Interview: Giulia Parise + Richie Fitzgerald
Fotos Header-Collage:
Richie beim Surfen | Matt Strathern, Aaron Pierce
Richie und Bundorans Big Wave Wurfer Conor Maguire bei der Buchprämiere von Cold Water Eden in 2022, Richie mit seinen Kindern Ella und Kai 2025, Richie mit dem irischen Euro Surf Team 2011, am Hafen von Mullaghmore mit (links) Paul O’Kane, (mitte) Richie Fitzgerald, (rechts) Neil Britton | Persönliches Archiv von Richie
