ABSTRACT
The cross-cutting essence is how people might become like water. That is, an entangled, enmeshed and embodied understanding of who they are through surfing. It is through a language of the senses that the wave is understood and expressed by the surfer. Within global surfing culture, a process of reclamation is underway to understand surfing as a boundary-crossing, fluid, sensual and reciprocal experience. There is growing interest in how surfing could be used as medium to challenge social norms and inequalities as well as the tensions and power dynamics inherent in the cultural politics of surfing as it becomes increasingly formalised and commercialised. The sea is both a place of loss and healing. In Ireland, the narrative of the sea is traditionally one that has centred on the sea as a place of loss associated with tragedy, poverty and penance.
