Summer or winter, with or without the luxury of sunshine, Ireland is a cold and lonely place to surf. Just a smattering of locals are committed to surfing year-round, so there are endless possibilities for empty sessions on and off the beaten track.

Here's a quick snapshot in time taken as this year's Irish summer transitioned to autumn. A solid north-west swell lit up a series of points and reefs in County Mayo, with a dozen surfers of mixed nationalities trading long walls and slabby barrels. //BEN MATSON