All aboard for the Dive Show in Nenagh!
A warm welcome is extended to all to the biggest event on the national scuba diving calendar, Dive Ireland International Expo, which is happening in Nenagh this weekend.
Hosted by Lough Derg Sub Aqua Club in association with the Irish Underwater Council, the 2019 ‘Dive Show’ will take place at the Great National Abbey Court Hotel on Saturday and Sunday, March 2nd and 3rd. There is a fantastic array of exhibitors and speakers lined up for this year’s show, with participants coming from as far away as the Red Sea, Mediterranean, Canary Islands, France and Finland, as well as from across Ireland and the UK.
The star attraction of this show is the speaker lineup. In all around 40 talks will take place over the weekend, the topics ranging from adventure stories to nature and environmental themes.
Sure to attract a large audience is Jim Warny, the Clare-based cave diver who volunteered his skills to the team of divers that rescued a group of young soccer players and their coach from a cave in Thailand last summer. Jim played a key role in the successful operation, which captured attention and fired imaginations around the world.
Rory Golden, the first Irish man to dive down to the wreck of The Titanic, will be giving two talks at the show. Rory, who also helped set up Portroe Dive Centre, was part of the Jeff Bezos international dive team that recovered Apollo space rockets from 4,200 metres in the North Atlantic. More people have been to outer space than to these ocean depths!
Also talking about exploring famous wrecks will be deep sea diver Peter McCamley, who led two international expeditions to the resting place of The Lusitania. Among the selection of speakers too is veteran seafarer Fred Parle, who was famously taken captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia in 2008.
There will be local speakers at the Dive Show in Nenagh as well, including Robert Foyle of Terryglass, who has documented the return of White-tailed Sea Eagles to Lough Derg; John Leech, Commodore of Lough Derg Yacht Club and CEO of Irish Water Safety; and Tom Harvey of Nenagh Ormond Search Unit.
A newly-made addition to the show is the 'Scuba Doodle' exhibition of work by local artists and craftspeople, among them Izabella Wrombel (decoupage.com), artist Jackie McGrath, crafter Val Jewitt, Edwina Knight & Klara Moylan (artist & photographer), wood sculptor Para Havatitye (whose bog oak dolphin is one of the main prizes in the raffle), artist Barry LeMasney, Philip Fitzgerald (leatherwork and bells), and ES Reuse – Emer O’Donnell & Sarah Ryan, who were recently featured in the Nenagh Guardian for making useful products from unwanted waste material such as old fishing nets.
And there's lots more to look forward to at this weekend's Dive Show, including an underwater photography exhibition and a raffle with some fantastic prizes to be won, including holidays, a cash prize, tickets to the Blue Planet II at the Three Arena, T-shirt signed by Sir David Attenborough, and much, much more!
Lough Derg Sub Aqua Club would like to again thank all of our sponsors and everyone who has contributed prizes.
The show will take place from 9am to 6pm on Saturday and 9am to 5pm on Sunday. Day admission of €8 covers entry into the exhibition including all talks on that day. There is a two-day rate of €12. Free admission for under 16s accompanied by an adult.
Please visit www.diveireland.ie for more information.