Multi-Day:
Circumnavigation - Ireland

Route Distance: ~755 nm / 1398.3 km
Prevailing direction: CW
Record: 2015 - 23
Solo: 30
Team: 25

Records

Mick O'Meara
K1M232015
Jeff Allen
Harry Whelan
Team252011
Dermot Blount
Brian Fanning
Karl Heery
Mick O'Meara
Team331990
Andy Fleck
K1M401984
Robert Henshall
K1M661981
Tom Daly
K1M?1979
Franco Ferrero
Derek Hairon
John Bouteloup
Team?1978
Mick O'Meara crosses the line
Image: Mick O'Meara crosses the line

Back in 1990 Dermot Blount, Brian Fanning, Karl Heery and Mick O'Meara set the record for the fastest circumnavigation of Ireland, the record was to stand for over 20 years. The distance may not be as great as for the UK Circumnavigation but the remote coastline and exposure to the full force of Atlantic swells means that this is no easy trip to complete - and especially so in a record time.

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Multi-Day: Circumnavigation - Ireland

Click column header to sort.
Posn.CatPaddlerElapsedDateStartBoatNoteLink1Dir
1K1MMick O'Meara2303-Jul-15Garrarus Beach
Tramore		Rockpool Taran 18
BlogCW
2TeamJeff Allen
Harry Whelan		2516-May-11ArdmoreRockpool Taran 18

Blog CW
3K1MTom Thorpe2623-Aug-19PortpatrickSKUK Quantum
CCW
4TeamDermot Blount
Brian Fanning
Karl Heery
Mick O'Meara		33Jun-90Valley Nordkapp
Valley Nordkapp
Valley Nordkapp

CW
5K1MJoe Leach3421-Jun-15Bray
Co.Wicklow		Rockpool Taran 18
BlogCW
5TeamDan McGonigle
Steve Miles		3425-Sep-15Dun LaoghaireSKUK Explorer

BlogCW
5K1MJonny Eldridge3426-Aug-17Bulloch HarbourRockpool GT
MapCW
8TeamDanny Egan
Paddy McGovern		3601-Jul-11Howth
nr Dublin		North_Shore Polar HV

BlogCW
9TeamGadi Goldfab
Misha Hoichman
Alon Ohad		3705-Aug-06Dun LaoghaireSKUK Explorer
SKUK Explorer

BlogCW
9TeamBrian Fahy
Derek Lyons
Tony O'Mahony		37?2007Kirton C-Trek


11TeamMike Barton
Stephen Campbell
Bobby Graham		3807-Aug-99KilkeelNordkapp Jubilee
Nordkapp Jubilee

11K1WEila Wilkinson3824-Jul-10Bulloch HarbourSKUK Pilgrim Expedition
BlogCW
11K1MJim Swift3827-Jul-19TramorePaddleboard
RTECW
14TeamSean Cahill
Jon Hynes		3924-Jul-15Old Head of KinsaleRockpool Taran 18

WebsiteCW
15K1MAndy Fleck4023-Aug-84Dun LaoghaireValley Nordkapp
ArticleCW
15K1MMike Jones40?2012DublinSipre Murano Evo
CW
15TeamGeoff Cater
Andy Mullins		4012-Jul-15Rosslare HarbourKirton C-Trek

BlogCW
18K1MMarcus Demuth42?2007?Valley Nordkapp
WebsiteCW
18TeamJohn Bolton
Diane Cooper		4202-Aug-14KinsaleValley Aleut II

ArticleCW
18K1MRob Coffey42?06-Aug-14P+H Scorpio
CW
21TeamPaul De Haas
Marian Makelaar		43?2009SKUK Romany

21TeamRoger Chandler
Justine Curgenven
Barry Shaw		43???
?

CW
21K1WFreya Hoffmeister4314-Aug-16Graigue LittleLettmann Speedliner
fbCW
24K1MPetr Major4514-Jul-18Bulloch HarbourSKUK Quantum
BlogCW
25TeamSonja Ewen
Sue Honan		4622-Jul-15WexfordSKUK Pilgrim Expedition

PressCW
25TeamTavi Murray
Elan Winter		4624-May-17Baltimore HarbourValley Etain 17.1

CCW
27TeamEoin FitzGibbon
Lee Taylor		51 tbc25-Jul-17Garretstown Beach
Kinsale?

CCW
28TeamRob Burgess
Ritchie Diaper
David Simpson		5211-Jun-19Larne


BlogCW
29K1WNiamh Grimmer5316-Aug-16Dunmanus?
CW
30TeamChristian Dingenotto
Mirco Goldhausen		5425-Jun-15Wicklow

TrackerCW
31K1WEileen Murphy5508-Aug-05HowthSKUK Explorer HV
WebsiteCW
31TeamLindsey Harris
Natalie Maderova
Zoe Robinson		5528-Jul-19HowthTiderace Pace 17
Tiderace Pace 17

BlogCCW
33K1MJulian Haines5904-Jul-17Bulloch Harbour
Dublin		Valley Nordkapp Forti
BlogCW
34K1MPaul Alexander62?2014Kilmore QuayDagger Charleston
CW
35K1MRobert Henshall6626-Sep-81Whiteabbey
Belfast		Valley Nordkapp HM
CCW
36TeamLeon Harris
Cathal McCosker		67??

37K1MPat Rodgers6821-Aug-97Toe HeadValley Nordkapp
CW
38K1MHamish Wilkinson7005-Sep-14PortrushValkyrie Craft Selkie
BlogCW
39K1MMichael O'Farrell7110-Jul-17Bulloch Harbour
Dublin		NDK Explorer
fbCCW
40K1WElaine Alexander72?13-Jul-11Whitehead
Co. Antrim		Valley Etain
WebsiteCW
41K1MMike Conroy7414-Aug-23Copleand IslandsTiderace Pace 17 Tour
CW
42K1MSam Crowley8220-Aug-07Coliemore HarborNDK Explorer
WebsiteCW
43K1MChris Duff90?1996DublinValley Nordkapp
CW
44K1MJasper Winn9713-Sep-07??
BlogCW
45K1MCharles Daly70018-Jun-23BantryRockpool Taran 16
BlogCW
46K1MKevin O Sullivan91510-Dec-19Skerries Co DublinRockpool Taran 18
CW
47TeamFranco Ferrero
Derek Hairon
John Bouteloup		?1978Valley Nordkapp


CW
47K1MTom Daly?1979Kerry?
TNAD 29CW
47TeamDonal Dowd
Tim Flavin		?1989

ArticleCW
47TeamEugene Burns
Mick Murphy		?1990

47K1MTom O'Neill?1991?
47TeamSuzanne Kennedy
Suzanne Weekes		?1991

47K1MSean Pierce?1999??
CW
47TeamRuairi Leddy
Pearse O'Toole		?2015


Summary:

Multi-Day: Circumnavigation - Ireland
87 paddlers total completed 54 laps.
30 Solo paddlers
57 Team paddlers in 24 teams


+ Modified Circumnavs

(Attempts that do not quite make the criteria for a full circumnav - i.e. sections may have been omitted due to routing through inland waterways, non-sequential routing, use of sails, on the water support/escorts etc.
Click column header to sort.
--CatPaddlerElapsedDateStartBoatNoteLink1Dir
--TeamDamian Hamill
Richard Skelly		6026-Jul-25Drogheda
Co. Louth		SKUK Explorer
SKUK Explorer
Non-sequential-

1 modified attempts

Notes

Jeff Allen / Harry Whelan (16-May-11)
Harry and Jeff worked against poor weather most of the way and with some incredible daily distances to finally break the long standing record.
Dermot Blount / Brian Fanning / Karl Heery / Mick O'Meara (Jun-90)
From Mick O'Meara: "I’m sure this time is well beatable but it depends on how hard you want to push and how long you want to stay on the water each day. One regret I have is that I didn’t take longer to go round and explore the coast a little more. When you’re setting fast times you only tend to see headland after headland etc..." This impressive time for such an extensive journey stood for over 20 years but as Mick hints, it is often difficult to set the balance between mileage and exploring.
Charles Daly (18-Jun-23)
Charles initially set out in June 2023 but abandoned after injury. He returned in 2025 to complete in a total of 700 days.
Tom Daly (1979)
Understood to be the first solo circumnavigation of Ireland. Tom's exploits were published in the Irish Sea Kayaking Association Newsletter, Treasna na dTonnta - Issue 29.
Christian Dingenotto / Mirco Goldhausen (25-Jun-15)
From Mirco: "54 days on the trip, 44 days traveled, 7 full days off, weather bound, 1 rest day because we could, 2 rest days because we were to early, 1 day with an extra 14k, being lost in an estuary. 1 day of 10k extra, but turning around cause of wind"
Danny Egan / Paddy McGovern (01-Jul-11)
Danny and Paddy point out that neither come from a sea paddling background, before the Ireland Circumnavigation their previous longest trip away was over 2 nights. As part of the trip, their fundraising efforts have raised over €4000 for the Irish Hospice. They were supported by Kokatat, North Shore Kayaks and I-Canoe.
Eoin FitzGibbon / Lee Taylor (25-Jul-17)
Originally a 4-man team: Nick Blowfield, Eoin FitzGibbon, Lee Taylor,Gudni Pall Viktorsson. Nick retired 26-June, Gudni Pall retired 10-July.
Damian Hamill / Richard Skelly (26-Jul-25)
Non-sequential.
While Damian and Richard paddled the a lap of Ireland, a major achievement, they did switch directions part way through.
Summary from Richard Skelly:
"Departed Drogheda Co Louth on the 28th of May. Paddled south and around the southern tip and up the West coast until we reached Seafeild point in Co Clare. Total distance to that point was 775km 35 days of which we paddled 26. We then headed back over on the 02/07/25 to Dunany point in Co Louth which is 28km to the North of were we had started, the reason for this was so we would have a small section to paddle into my home Port of Drogheda for a home coming.
We started heading up the east coast on the 04/07/25 and continued until we made our way back Seafeild Point in Co Clare. This left us with the last section to complete from Dunany to Drogheda.
Our biggest distance paddled was in Co Mayo when we covered nearly 80km in 11 hours but this was broken into 3 stops. We went from Claggan point to Achill Island-Clare, Island, finishing on Inishbofin. This was defiantly some of the toughest conditions we paddled in with a fresh F5 tailwind and large westerly swell with occasional breaking waves funnelled in between the islands, this kept us on our toes for the entirety of the crossing.
Longest crossing was 58km from Malin Beg in Co Donegal to Lacken in Co Mayo this took us 10hrs 15min We finished up on the 26/07/25
Distance Total 1571km
Days in total 59
Paddling days 49
Most memorable part of the trip for me was when we rounded Mizen head in total fog, we had to heavily rely on our compasses and timings this was somewhat unnerving as we could hear the thunderous roar of waves breaking against the headland.
We gave it a wide berth as possible.
We also had the hum of a fishing trawler engine coming from somewhere within the fog, we rafted up had our radios on channel 16 and whistles in hand but thankfully it never approached us.
After a few hours the fog lifted and within in a few minutes we had a MInke Whale pop up less than 5 meters from Damian’s bow and that was followed by 2 huge sun fish. It was just one of those days that will stay with us forever."
Lindsey Harris / Natalie Maderova / Zoe Robinson (28-Jul-19)
Zoe returned to the UK for 36 hrs for an urgent medical appointment. She continued her journey with the team on her return.
Robert Henshall (26-Sep-81)
Rob's claim to fame involves a total of 4 Irish Circumnavigations - including: 1990 Laser dinghy, 1992 Windsurfer and 2005 Drascombe sailboat.
Eileen Murphy (08-Aug-05)
Eileen paddled to complete the first "jacuzzi tour of Ireland", also claiming the first female solo circumnavigation.
Michael O'Farrell (10-Jul-17)
From Michael: "Solo circumnavigation with a pause of 16 days off to take (pre-booked holidays in Portugal)." Start: Bulloch Harbour, Dublin, Finish: Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Dublin
Pat Rodgers (21-Aug-97)
From Pat: "Just thought I'd help correct your records. I paddled around Ireland in 1997. It took me 68 days from start to finish but 38 days on the water. It was a clockwise trip, starting at Toe Head, West Cork. I was with Jimmy O'Toole from my start to Killary Harbour so not entirely solo. Also had company across Donegal Bay and a couple of other days. Jimmy could also be added to your list as he completed the circumnavigation over two summers... had started summer 96. My Kayak was a copy of a Nordkap built by Mark Downey.
Eila Wilkinson (24-Jul-10)
Initially Eila set out to undertake the circumnavigation with Sonja Ewen; unfortunately Sonja became ill during the trip and so Eila completed the journey solo.
Recorded Start Points:
    • ?? (4)
    • Ardmore (1)
    • Baltimore Harbour (1)
    • Bantry (1)
    • Bray, Co.Wicklow (1)
    • Bulloch Harbour (3)
    • Bulloch Harbour, Dublin (2)
    • Coliemore Harbor (1)
    • Copleand Islands (1)
    • Drogheda, Co. Louth (1)
    • Dublin (2)
    • Dun Laoghaire (3)
    • Dunmanus? (1)
    • Garrarus Beach, Tramore (1)
    • Garretstown Beach, Kinsale? (1)
    • Graigue Little (1)
    • Howth (2)
    • Howth, nr Dublin (1)
    • Kerry (1)
    • Kilkeel (1)
    • Kilmore Quay (1)
    • Kinsale (1)
    • Larne (1)
    • Old Head of Kinsale (1)
    • Portpatrick (1)
    • Portrush (1)
    • Rosslare Harbour (1)
    • Skerries Co Dublin (1)
    • Toe Head (1)
    • Tramore (1)
    • Wexford (1)
    • Whiteabbey, Belfast (1)
    • Whitehead, Co. Antrim (1)
    • Wicklow (1)

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