Gearóid Mcdaid, the Sligo surfer, in action.Irish Stew

Gearóid Mcdaid, known across the surfing world as G-Man, was raised a short drive from Mullaghmore, the County Sligo reef that throws up some of the heaviest waves in Europe. He sat down with the Irish Stew podcast in New York to talk about life as a pro surfer, the nerve it takes to drop into a 50-foot face, and his push for a place on the beach at the LA Olympics.

Known across the surfing world as G-Man, Gearóid Mcdaid grew up twenty minutes from Mullaghmore, County Sligo's fearsome slab wave and now holds the 2025 European shortboard title. Now he hope to ride the wave to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Irish Stew podcast caught up with him mid-vacation in New York, tucked into Georgie's Chelsea, right under a photograph of the man himself mid-wave.

"It's a pretty cool thing that surfing's in the Olympics now," he says. Gearóid's victory at the European Championships last year did its part for the sport back home, proof, as he puts it, that Ireland has surfers who can compete with the best in the world.

Gearóid walks us through the two lives of a pro surfer: the technical, judged world of competition, and the far riskier business of chasing 50-foot slabs at Mullaghmore, a wave made by limestone reef geology and giant North Atlantic swells. Chasing those waves takes a safety crew on jet skis and a fair amount of nerve, skills built on a childhood his surfer father set in motion, long before Mullaghmore's entered the picture.

Gearóid Mcdaid speaks to the Irish Stew podcast.

"You're always scared," he admits, "but it's just trying to push through it and enjoy it."

He talks sponsors, wave pool training in Scotland, overcoming injuries, and the tight-knit, fast-growing surf scene back home. "Everyone knows each other that surfs,” he says.

Next up for G-Man: a video trip to France for his sponsor Monster in October, then the World Championships in Peru in November, all building toward one goal. As Martin puts it, fingers crossed we'll see the Irish flag flying on a beach at the LA Olympics in 2028.

Listen here to the latest Irish Stew podcast with Gearóid Mcdaid:

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