Welcome to Dalkey Scubadivers' Web Site. Club HistoryFounded in 1976, Dalkey Scubadivers (or DSD), is an amateur scuba-diving club affiliated to C.F.T (Comhairle Fo-Thuinn, in Irish), The Irish Underwater Council, located in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin. As its name suggests, the club is based in Dalkey as most of the diving in South County Dublin takes place in and around Dalkey and its islands.
DSD operated from a house called "Roxborough" on the Coliemore Road until it was sold in the late 1980's. The club moved to premises made available to it in the grounds of the Dalkey Island Hotel. Over the past decade DSD and the Dalkey Island Hotel have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship. Unfortunately when permission was granted to build apartments on the site of the hotel, the club then lost its changing room facilities and land base. In 1999, DSD were generously allowed become members of the Irish National Sailing School for their diving activities.
DSD is an active diving club, with approximately 50 members. Despite stiff competition from professional diving school businesses the club has, over the past 10 years, trained on average 30 people p.a. to scubadive. (Since its inception almost 1000 people have been taught to dive by Dalkey Scubadivers, thanks in no small part to its founders Shane and Ollie Gray, now of Scubadive West, Galway). Club members have also given their time to help novice divers advance their diving, rescue and boat handling skills.
During the summer months the club meets two times a week; Wednesdays at 6.30pm and and Sundays at 10.00am. In the winter months (1st October-31st March) the club meets on Sunday mornings for snorkels, weather and visibility permitting. Snorkelling takes place from Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey at 10:30 am.
While the Club welcomes anyone with an interest in diving to join it, at least 75% of its members are from the Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown borough. DSD is a local club that often works closely with other marine groups. Every year the club assists with the 1.5 mile around Dalkey Island snorkel on St. Patrick's Day and with sea swims, by providing rescue boats for the events. Other local clubs have also been facilitated when possible. DSD has also assisted yachtsmen and fishermen retrieve lost engines, equipment, lobster pots, etc.
The Club liaises with the Marine Rescue Services and has regularly provided boats, divers and shore teams for search and rescue purposes. Over the years a portion of our fundraising has been donated to the R.N.L.I. (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) by DSD.
The club has an excellent safety record; safety at sea is of paramount importance - particularly in view of the fact that the club regularly travels to the Atlantic coasts for their diving activities and also the diving on the east coast is often in reduced visibility. As a rule, DSD travels away from its base every bank holiday weekend and for one week in July. The diving away tends to be more adventurous as there are (generally) more exposed seas, more offshore sites and the possibility of deeper diving.
Luckily, the West Coast of Ireland provides increased underwater visibility(!), up to 35 metres with 20 metres not an uncommon experience. When the visibility is good, the underwater scenery around Ireland is magnificent. Added to this is a constant supply of interesting marine life, both over and under water; this is what makes the experience of diving in Ireland so interesting and compelling. So finally enjoy browsing our Web site and if you have any questions feel free to contact us here.