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No previous experience is necessary for this 1-Day, AIDA 1 level Freediving Taster Course! Curious about trying freediving? Interested but don't have the time to take a 2-day Course yet? Perhaps you are wanting to learn spearfishing but need to learn the foundational essentials? This course is great for those both without any experience, and with a bit of experience. We will get into the initial basics and practice of breath-hold! You'll have the chance to try-on and get familiar with freediving gear, get in the water, and try your hand at diving under the waves. You will receive enriching course learning material in the weeks leading up to your course, which must be completed by course start date (approx. 3 hours long). Everything at this level will be kept shallow, and always we work in a completely safe and fun environment! COURSE INCLUDES: - AIDA 1 Certification - Personal Equipment * - Learning Material AVAILABLE DATES: - Saturday, May 3: 10am-5:00pm - Saturday, July 19: 10am-5:00pm Select your preferred start date on the Booking Calendar through the "Book Now" button! BOOKINGS: Course Price: €240 ** Booking Deposit: €85 *** ___ * EQUIPMENT: Personal freediving equipment is fully included in this course - with the condition that you confirm your sizes with us in advance of the course. We may be able to provide something for you if you book closer to the course date, but it is not guaranteed. We only have standard sizing suits and fins and will do our best to get as good a fit for you as possible with our gear. You may find a tailor made wetsuit is a good option for you, if you don't usually fit 'off-the-shelf' sizes. ** DIVE SITE ENTRY FEES: Applicable course location dive site fees (i.e. national or private parks) are NOT included in the standard course costs. Currently Portroe Quarry Dive Site fees are: €30 annual membership + €30 daily rate. You can pay this now, with your course booking, or can wait and pay this on arrival to the site, on the day of the course. *** DEPOSIT: If you book more than a month in advance, you can book your spot with either Full Course Payment, or a Refundable Deposit (Terms & Conditions apply). If you book with a deposit, we will invoice you with your remaining course fee which will be due by one month before your course. Deposit is subject to our standard Cancellation Policy (see bottom of this page). Bookings made within one month of course start date will be full price.

Our Freediving Course Weekends are for everyone – those with zero experience & also those with varied skill levels who want to deepen their knowledge & improve their abilities! The AIDA education system supports divers to safely progress by ensuring they learn essential skills & gain further important theoretical understanding according to their level. Not sure which course level is best for you? Check out the AIDA info & flow chart at the bottom of the previous page to see which level is appropriate for your level & eligibility. Important info on Certifications is there also. Feel free to contact us if you need help understanding which AIDA course level is appropriate for you. WEEKEND INCLUDES: - Personal equipment * - Instruction & learning materials for your relevant level - Depth & possible static course skill practice & development - Personalized coaching to your level, needs & abilities - AIDA Certification (as applicable, see info at bottom of Bookings page) AVAILABLE COURSE WEEKEND DATES: - 1.5 Days: Saturday, May 3: 10am-5:00pm & Sunday, May 4: 10am-2pm - 1.5 Days: Saturday, July 19: 10am-5:00pm & Sunday, July 20: 10am-2pm Select your preferred start date on the Booking Calendar through the "Book Now" button! BOOKINGS: Course Price: €325 ** Booking Deposit: €85 *** ___ * EQUIPMENT: Personal freediving equipment is fully included in this course - with the condition that you confirm your sizes with us in advance of the course. We may be able to provide something for you if you book closer to the course date, but it is not guaranteed. We only have standard sizing suits and fins and will do our best to get as good a fit for you as possible with our gear. You may find a tailor made wetsuit is a good option for you, if you don't usually fit 'off-the-shelf' sizes. ** DIVE SITE ENTRY FEES: Applicable course location dive site fees (i.e. national or private parks) are NOT included in the standard course costs. Currently Portroe Quarry Dive Site fees are: €30 annual membership + €30 daily rate. You can pay this now, with your course booking, or can wait and pay this on arrival to the site, on the day of the course. *** DEPOSIT: If you book more than a month in advance, you can book your spot with either Full Course Payment, or a Refundable Deposit (T's & C's apply). If you book by deposit we will invoice you with the remaining course fee, due by one month before your course. Deposit is subject to our standard Cancellation Policy (see below)

There are loads of benefits to receive personalized coaching & training. Want to receive coaching from experienced coaches? Working towards AIDA certification requirements? Need some more practice after doing a course, or working on a specific skill? Or perhaps you're not quite yet ready to go out and buy all of your own gear, or are not yet confident in your skills as a buddy just yet. Join us on our coaching days to improve your skills and confidence. If needed, you can work towards your relevant AIDA certification requirements at the same time. We are happy to witness/sign-off and certify achieved required skills (check out AIDA info at the bottom of the Bookings page, or contact us for info). Coaching Days are relevant for: ~ Those who have completed at minimum a Taster or Intro course with us, or AIDA 1 equivalent elsewhere ~ Any already certified or experienced freedivers ~ Informal spearos/freedivers who can demonstrate relevant previous experience INCLUDES: - Personal Equipment * - 2 x in-water depth session (Half Day/1 x Session option also available, see Info & Bookings page) - Personalized Depth Coaching to your level, needs and abilities AVAILABLE TRAINING DATES: - Saturday, May 3: 10am-5pm - Saturday, July 19: 10am-5pm Select your preferred date on the Booking Calendar through the "Book Now" button! BOOKINGS: ** Coaching Session Price: €125 *** Booking Deposit: €85 *** ___ * EQUIPMENT: Personal freediving equipment is fully included in this session - with the condition that you confirm your sizes with us in advance. We may be able to provide something for you if you book closer to the session date, but it is not guaranteed. We only have standard sizing suits and fins and will do our best to get as good a fit for you as possible with our gear. You may find a tailor made wetsuit is a good option for you, if you don't usually fit 'off-the-shelf' sizes. ** DIVE SITE ENTRY FEES: Applicable location dive site fees (i.e. national or private parks) are NOT included in the session cost. Currently Portroe Quarry Dive Site fees are: €30 Annual Membership + €30 Daily Rate. You can pay this now, with your booking, or can wait and pay this on arrival to the site, on the day of your coaching session. *** DEPOSIT: If you book more than a month in advance, you can book your spot with either Full Payment, or Refundable Deposit (T's & C's apply). If you book by deposit we will invoice you the remaining fee, due by one month before start date.

Photos of guys holding fish on social media and dating apps? I used to instantly judge a book by it's cover (or a man by his fish). In my twenties, my associations with a person that hunts assumed without hesitation that they were right-wing, conservative, likely religious, misogynistic and that they live in a culture that I just wouldn't feel comfortable in. I felt like we were worlds apart. Yet I grew up fishing. My grandfather would take me out on the lake in the early hours of the morning, or the darkening hours of the evening and show me how to sit quiet, be present, pay attention, catch a fish, clean it, prepare it and eat it. He taught me to connect. With my food, each other, our shared environment, and the greater cycles of birth, existence and death. My grandfather would have my brothers and I catch worms and frogs for bait, and learn how to hook them on even if we were initially a bit squeamish. "This is the circle of life, you have to be able to engage with it." He was not cruel in his words, but wise. We are in this circle whether or not we know it, and my grandfather taught me to show up to it with intention, integrity and gratitude. Though I was raised in the suburbs outside Toronto, it was these glimpses of moments on the water with my grandfather, and my habit of always escaping to the trees and lakes of Ontario, Canada that had me feeling most alive, most healthy, most connected to myself and the wide wild world. These glimpses helped me cope with the stressors of the capitalist and patriarchal world I was embedded in. In my twenties I spent years involved in social justice, activism and humanitarian work. My values had me more and more trying to find ways to divest from corporations and governments that created such destruction - not only for humans but ecological devastation at large. In my roles in organizations overstaffed and underpaid trying to stretch resources I was always pay-check-to-pay-check, and living in a perpetual and normalized state of burn-out. I felt guilty when I couldn't afford organic local food, and angry as housing stability continued to be precarious. Despite my many privileges I have had to access food pantries as well as teetered close to homelessness in multiple chapters of my life. Not because anything is wrong with me, but because there are so many things wrong in our systems. We have completely lost our connection. We have lost site completely of our place in the circles of life. Into my thirties I have continued to see systems of injustice infringe on every aspect of all species on earth. So many times while I'm swimming or freediving and I see other animals along the way I have found myself envious of their ability to find a home, not have to live in a state of dis-ease simply to pay rent to someone else. Their ability to forage and harvest food without having to exchange their soul for it. They may lose their life, but they have not traded in their dignity. Yet all that marine life that I am often so jealous and in awe of - their homes, food and dignity are also threatened, violated and being destroyed. Most of us on this planet are living in both a very real and tangible state of housing and food instability. Both economically and ecologically. And here I find myself, again in the water. Finding healing, connection, and it giving back. I've learned to tap into the genetic coding of my DNA that links us to our cousins like the Orcas and Dolphins. My adaptation and awareness is ever-deepening further into my environments, myself, and that which is greater. I've ended-up with one of those guys who has photos with fish. In fact I've become a woman who has photos with her fish. They are not trophies - but they are filled with pride. My partner Dave has invited me back into recognizing my place in the circle, the way my grandfather once did. With intention, integrity and gratitude. To spearfish well you must become a part of an ecosystem. In fact you build the awareness to realize you already are. You are not merely a consumer or spectator but in interconnected kinship. Spearfishing circumvents the ecologically destructive fish farms, trolling, by-catch, or marine pollution (i.e. net discards, fuel, etc.). Something that my ancestors here along the Atlantic ocean would have done merely to survive has in some ways become a privilege. Yet for me it also has become not only a necessity as food prices continue to soar, but a political stance against systems of injustice and destruction. I have gotten to know many spearos and hunters here in Ireland, and come to learn that the majority I meet actually are more caring and connected to their environments than most people I know - left or right wing alike. Spearfishing for me is not about sport, it is not about winning. Spearfishing and foraging for me is both political and personal. It is entering into the closest connection I can with my food. It is ecologically principled and rooted in the truest form of sustainability far from green-washing. It is a source of food for me that does not cost the money I do not have anyway. It is a source of dignity, health and well-being. Spearfishing keeps me calm, present, grateful, and connected to those I dive with (because we never spearfish alone, right!), the eco-systems I am interconnected with, and my food source. Spearfishing is sacred. Spearfishing is intentionally engaging in the circle of life, so that it all, so that we all, may continue.