Realistic Expectations - Ireland

[Meldives]

Hi,

I'm moving to Ireland (from Australia) later this year. I leave Oz in Oct and after 3 weeks holiday will settle in Ireland (Ennis) in Nov. My dilemma is this - how much diving can I realistically be expected to get in say between the middle of Nov and the New Year? What are the conditions like (wind etc, not too worried about the temp!) at this time of year. Winter where I live currently is one of the best times to dive, but obviously everywhere is different. The reason I ask is that I flooded by beloved Oly 5050 on the weekend and am now planning on upgrading to a dSLR, but just wondering if it is worth it to do it before I leave or when I get there.

Thanks,
Meldives

[Mick F]

Realistically? Not much where you are going. You're on the Atlantic coast so you can expect fairly constant winds from Oct through March.

That'st the bad news, the good news is that if you do get a calm week, you can get 30M viz in the winter, especially around Jan/Feb, but the water will be around 7/8C so you need some decent thermal protection.

[cookstowndiver]

That Atlantic wind...brrr
but when the conditions are good they are really good!

[bigfeller]

Ennis to Killary Fjord? Probably about a 3 hour drive (complete guess here). We dive there at the start of December. It's sheltered so you always get a dive and the vis is usually pretty good.

[davidcarson]

As the guys have said you may need to travel to get good or better weather conditions to get a dive in. These guys plan diving trips in Ireland regulary so look out for the next one.

YD (Ireland) Get wrecked part 3 11th & 12th aug

The diving is fantastic when you get it!!