Dive Ireland International

Event Details

Venue: Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone, Co. Westmeath

Date: Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd March

Admission: 5 euros for each day

Time: 9.30am to 6pm on Saturday and 9.30am to 5.30pm on Sunday

Contact: Jim Campbell

Phone: 087 2359772

Website: http://www.athlonesubaqua.com/

Speakers

Wreck Diving - Barry McGill is a technical diving instructor and active deep wreck explorer and photographer. Barry first became interested in wreck diving when reading a book on the S.S. Laurentic. Since his first adventure on this classic wreck, his passion for exploration and wreck diving has been fueled by the vast marine history that surrounds the Irish coastline. Exploring famous shipwrecks such as the R.M.S. Justicia and H.M.S. Audacious left a major impression on Barry, which helped develop his desire to photograph and document shipwrecks. Barry has been part of several expeditions exploring the wrecks off the coast of Ireland including the discovery of the H.M.S. Curacao in 125 metres and the White Star Liner Carinthia in 116 metres. Barry was also a member of the 2nd Deep Wreck Mysteries Series, which was aired on ITV and the History Channel in 2009.

Cave Diving in Ireland: Caves, Cavers and Rescues.  An overview of the cave diving scene in Ireland, the Irish Cave Rescue Service and how to get involved hosted by members of the Speleological Union of Ireland and the Irish Cave Rescue Organization, Jim Warney and Jason Masterson.

Sea Shepherd - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization.  Their mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Seasearch – Seasearch is a project for sports divers who want to learn more about what they see underwater and want to help protect the marine environment. Liam Lysaght from Biodiversity Ireland talks about Biodiversity Online Maps and the biomapping programs they are running including the Seasearch/ Marine data they contain

Technical Diving and dive Computers – Declan Burke is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and a PADI TecRec Trimix Instructor - one of two in Ireland, he runs courses in Nitrox, Trimix, Wreck, Deep Diving and decompression dive planning using computer software from his base in Letterkenny.

Freediving - Feargus Callagy, Ireland’s premier freediver, talks about freediving, the why, the how and the future. Why he chooses freediving over Scuba and how he does it. Feargus is an Apnea Academy Instructor and can hold his breath for an amazing five minutes. Freediving is the art, sport and science of holding your breath underwater and enjoying the sensation of swimming underwater in absolute silence. A must for anyone interested in Freediving, snorkeling and learning to relax in the water.

Snorkeling – Victor Kutischev has become Ireland’s number one snorkeling promoter, whether it’s in the videos he makes or photo’s he takes he manages to show us all what snorkeling is actually like in Ireland. His video’s and still shots have to be seen to be believed, the beauty of Irish waters is shown in its true colours and shows why snorkeling is becoming more and more popular. If you haven’t checked out Victor’s work before then come along to Dive Ireland 2013 to see what it’s all about.

Commercial Diving – Niall McHugh is a Mechanical Engineer and a commercial diver of 15 years. In that time his trade has allowed him to travel and work all over the world. He started his love for diving and the water as a 13 year old Junior Snorkeler with Athlone Sub Aqua Club and quickly developed into an experienced diver. He started working with a local Mechanical engineer and Commercial Diver at the age of 16, making the full commercial jump at the age of 24. Since then he has worked on some major worldwide commercial projects as well as running his own commercial diving company. This is a must for anyone interested in pursuing diving as an employment option as Niall shows us what a commercial diver does on a daily basis, how to qualify and what the life of a commercial diver is really like.

Exhibitors

We have a large number of exhibitors confirmed at this stage with more looking to join in for the weekend. We have some of the Dive Ireland regulars but also some new companies hoping to entice you with their deals. Confirmed so far are

• Othree
• Aquaholics
• Scubapro
• Lambay Diving
• Oceanaddicts
• Safari Divers
• Lencraft
• Scubadive West
• Colona Divers
• Flagship Scuba
• Oonas Divers
• FreediveIreland    
• Atomic Aquatics
• Divin’Dec
• Drysuit Tailors
• Underwater Visions     
• North West Dive Shop
• Sairee Cottage Diving
• Cathxocean Dive Lights   
• Indepth Technical Diving
• Outdoor sports Mullingar
• Robin Hood Watersports
• Feelgoodscuba
• Seasearch
• Sea Shepherd
• Underwater-Ireland

Website: http://www.hodsonbayhotel.com