The final line-up for the national surf team to represent Ireland at this year’s European Surfing Championships has finally been confirmed. Donegal’s John “JB” Britton takes the final place in the team following a decision taken by him and fellow surfer Keith O’Brien.  A “surf-off” was due to take place between the two men but due to Keith’s work commitments, it was decided that John should take the place on the team. John will compete in the Seniors division of Eurosurf.

Full team training sessions will continue in preparation for Eurosurf 2011 which will take place in Bundoran from September 23rd until October 2nd. 

The final team is as follows:

Shane Meehan, 29, from Strandhill, Stephen Kilfeather, 23 and Ashleigh Smith, 24 from Sligo, Cain Kilcullen, 24 from Enniscrone, Ronan Oertzen, 20, Shauna Ward, 24, Darragh McCarter, 25 & Richie Fitzgerald, 36 from Bundoran, Easkey Britton, 25 and John Britton, 32 from Rossnowlagh, John McCurry, 26 from Portrush & Oliver O’Flaherty, 24 and Stephen Kelleher, 24 from Lahinch, County Clare

  1. Shane Meehan, hails from Strandhill and can boast an impressive surfing career having come 7th in last worlds to include Body Boarding and has been twice quarterfinalist in IBA World Tour. He has also been twice Irish national champion. Shane will be competing in the Men’s body Board section of Eurosurf 2011. Shane is sponsored by Alder Wetsuits and Keep Shoes.
  2. Stephen Kilfeather, a student of NUI Galway is a goofy footer from Sligo who counts Strandhill as his homebreak. Stephen is no stranger to surfing competitions and was crowned Irish National Open champion in 2010. Stephen is currently sponsored by Billabong and Vans and will be competing in the Open section of Eurosurf and is excited to compete for Ireland at Eurosurf 2011.
  3. Ashleigh Smith from Sligo has been national Women’s Body Board champion multiple times and in Eurosurf 09 in Jersey placed 3rd in women’s body boarding. Ashleigh also placed 7th at the last worlds to feature Body Boarding. Ashleigh is sponsored by Alder Wetsuits and will be competing in the Women’s Body Board division of Eurosurf 2011.
  4. Cain Kilcullen is from Enniscrone and is regularly seen charging at his local break of Easkey. Cain will be competing in the open division of Eurosurf. Cain is one of the few regular footed surfers on the national Irish surf team and is looking forward to making the short trip to Bundoran from Easkey to compete at Eurosurf! Cain is sponsored by Billabong and Etnies and is a member of the West Sligo Surf Club.
  5. Oliver O’Flaherty, known as Ollie, is a member of the West Coast Surf Club and is sponsored by C-Skins, Emerald Surfwear, Tubes, Cequential Surfboards and Bulldog. He will be competing in the open surfing division of Eurosurf.
  6. Stephen Kelleher is also from Lahinch and has recently been elected vice-chairman of West Coast Surf Club. Stephen is no stranger to international competition and was ranked 17th whilst representing Ireland at Eurosurf 09 in Jersey. He is also WCSC Longboard Champion 2008. Stephen will compete in the Longboard division of Eurosurf.
  7. Student Ronan Oertzen originally hails from Belfast but now calls Bundoran his home. He will compete in the “Open” section of Eurosurf 2011 and comes with a wealth of competition experience having competed in Eurosurf 09 held in Jersey, Euro Juniors in 2008 where he was ranked 9th, Worlds ’09 Open, World Jrs ’07 U18 ranked 61st and Inter-Celtics ’06 U18 & Open. He currently holds the title of Irish Student Champion and is looking forward to competing this September on his home break of The Peak . He is sponsored by Xcel, Ocean & Earth and Dorrington Surfboards.
  8. Shauna Ward is a Bundoran girl through and through and has been surfing since she was 6 years old. This goofy footer first represented Ireland in the 2002 Euro Juniors where she finished an impressive 4th. She is sponsored by Powersource, Protest and C-Skins and counts Bundoran’s Peak as her favourite place to surf. Shauna will be competing in the Women’s division of Eurosurf.
  9. Darragh McCarter is originally from Tyrone and now lives in Bundoran. He works in his parent’s business of furniture stores. Darragh is no stranger to international competitions having been ranked 14th in Eurosurf 07 and was also crowned Irish National Champion in 2007 – not bad for someone who has only been surfing now for around 7 years. He will be competing in the Men’s body boarding division of Eurosurf 2011 on his favourite surfing reef – the Peak in Bundoran.
  10. Easkey Britton has surfing in her blood! The Britton family are well known in surfing circles right around the country and indeed the world. As well as surfing the normal breaks around her beloved Rossnowlagh, this four times Irish women’s champion has also recently become involved in “Big Wave Surfing” and recently competed in the Billabong competition held in nearby Mullaghmore, County Sligo as the only female big wave surfer! She was nominated in the Girl’s Performance Award in the Billabong XXL Big Wave awards for the same event. Along with Shauna Ward, Easkey (named after that famous surf break in County Sligo), will compete in the women’s surf division of Eurosurf 2011. Easkey is sponsored by Animal, Etnies, Surfplugs and JP Surfboards
  11. What can be said about Richie Fitzgerald? Possibly Ireland’s best known surfer and star of the surfing movie Waveriders. Richie has been surfing in Bundoran for more years than he cares to remember and along with his family have helped promote the sport in both Bundoran and Ireland and firmly established it as a sport to be reckoned with. Richie will be competing in the Masters division of Eurosurf. He competed in Eurosurf 97 when it was held in Bundoran , the Euro Juniors in 1994 and the Worlds in 1994 and 1996. “It’s a huge honour for me to be surfing for the Irish Team in EuroSurf 2011 on home turf in Bundoran, I can’t wait for September” says Richie who is sponsored by Volkswagen, Vans, Billabong, C-Skins, and Northcore.
  12. John McCurry, known as “Long John”, has 8 caps for the Irish national surf team and holds a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from the University of Ulster. Among his many accolades are Irish National Longboard Champion 2006, 2008, 2009. Runner-up 2005, 2007. 16th ISA World Surfing Games (Ecuador, 2004). 17th European Surf Championships (France, 2007). 3 time National Student Longboard Champion. He counts East Strand Portrush, The Barmouth on a good day, and a selection of reefs down West Ireland among his favourite breaks. John is sponsored by Gul Surf, Westbay Surfboards, Oxbow and Relentless.
  13. Having grown up in Rossnowlagh with the surname Britton, surfing is in John’s blood and he enjoys nothing more than taking his favourite board down to the famous drive-on beach and letting rip in the Atlantic waters.  A primary teacher by profession John recently made the move home from Dublin with his wife Fiona to nearby Ballyshannon. John is familiar with the Eurosurf competition having competed for Ireland in both the 1996 event held in Portugal and the 1998 event held in France – both times in the open division, and  is sponsored by Fin McCools.