General
Cork is Irelands 2nd biggest city and has a reasonable sized airport which has no frills airlines offering services to the uk and Europe. With the new motorway linking up with dublin it is now only an hour and a half drive. A great city for partying but if you are waves you may have to head out to the west. The city itself isnt blessed with surf there is some good breaks nearby espicially to the west which has some stunning countryside.
Surf
The surf arround Cork is mostly beachbreaks which can get very good. Sometimes Cork catches south swells that miss the West Coast however generally it is smaller than the west coasts. Castlefreak and some of the better beaches can get crowded on good days but there is quite a few options if you hunt arround. Probably best suited to intermediate and beginners.
Season/temp/climate
A 3/2 wetsuit is fine from May to September with water temps in the 12 to 16 degrees range. The Irish weather is as hard to predict as the lottery and is very unpredicably. The gulf ctream does warm the water and it can be warmer than you would expect.
The Autumn (September/October) is often descibed as the surf season as the water temp is still warm from the summer and hurricanes swells can produce big surf in the 6 to 10foot range. It can also be the time of year when there is crowds athe more famous reef breaks but seek and you can still find. A 4/3 is the best suit at this time of year.
The summer/spring is great for beginner/intermediate surfers as the smaller swells can mean good waves on the open beaches. The long days also allow us to surf after 11pm but the summer can produce long flat spells. Also when there is good waves it can be less crowded than the Autumn.
The winter is cold and dark with strong winds but if with plenty of sheltered breaks the surf can be epic. Often no problem with swell but chasing the offshore wind is crucial. A 5/3 suit is essential but search arround and you can find empty world class waves.
