Did Ireland Have The Craziest Big Wave Day of 2025? (Video)

The North Atlantic has just produced one of its best runs in recent memories with the cherry on top being the historic day at Mullaghmore, on December 18, 2025. Locals are calling it the biggest it’s been in five years and plenty of visiting heavies were there to lay witness to the madness and, if lucky, catch some of the rides of their lives. 

Despite all the big name visitors, it was local Conor Maguire that lucked out with the wave of the day + "wave of his life" first thing in the morning. We caught up with Luca Padua, who was stoked on Conor’s wave, “That’s exactly what you want to see, one of the locals with the best ride. That’s exactly how it should be.”

For a full recap, check the edit above from Gearoid Mcdaid, who got his fair share of mind-blowing rides during the wild run to close out the year. Of all the big wave days of 2025, where do you think this stacks up? Given that there were massive barrels for both tow in and paddle rides, from my POV, this may have been the most legendary day of 2025. Disagree? Please sound off in the comments.

Tom Lowe paddled into a monster wave of redemption after a tumultuous year marked by a life-threatening injury (read more here). He was one of only a handful of guys paddling and made a wave that shocked the world. Conor said, "You are amazing, Lowey. I can’t imagine turning to paddle for that thing. You’ve raised the bar yet again. So happy for you!!" Shane Dorian chimed in with, "That was seriously epic Tommy!! Wave of a lifetime brother ????????????"

Nic von Rupp towed into the “wave of his life”, a massive barrel pockmarked by a series of steps at the very end that he somehow navigated and stayed afoot, just days after winning the Tudor Nazaré Challenge. We'll catch up with Nic for a full breakdown on his crazy run in the near future.

Luca Padua is no stranger to cold, dark, giant waves at Mavericks in his home of Half Moon Bay, California. With not much brewing in the Pacific, he and his tow partner Alo Slebir traveled to Sligo, Ireland for all the action. He arrived on his birthday, December 17th, and the next day was the big swell. Talk about a gift if you’re into that sort of thing. 

We will run a full feature with Luca in 2026, as a relative newcomer to the international big wave stage, the young man is well-spoken and wise beyond his years.

Another young gun who went for broke at Mullaghmore was Ned Hart, one of the few other guys crazy enough to even try and paddle into the giant waves of that day. He hucked over the ledge and into a tight and low pig dog, grabbing rail to hold his backside line but the notorious boils got the best of him and he got swallowed up. Had he made, it would have rivaled Tom's wave. A valiant effort, no doubt.

If you just can't enough of the action, check Bomb Swell edit from Tim Bonython and relive what was surely one of the most historic days in surfing from 2025.

Happy New Year!