Sandycove diving team, gala 1967
Sandycove Diving Team, Sandycove Gala 1967, diving tower base, Blackrock Baths, County Dublin. From left to right: Billy Morrison, Val Demery, Eddie Heron, Danno O’Brien, Gerry Daly Joe(The Gog) Keegan, Ed Coady. The annual gala of the Sandycove Club, was generally a two-night affair with swimming, water-polo and diving. Diving featured international spring and high-board diving, as well as the ever popular comedy and fancy dress diving performances by home and visiting divers. The local divers were led and inspired and mentored by the legendary Eddie Heron.
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks also to Manolo Demery.Sandycove diving team, gala 1967
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks also to Manolo Demery.
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks also to Manolo Demery.
Sandycove diving team, gala 1967
Sandycove Diving Team, Sandycove Gala 1967, diving tower base, Blackrock Baths, County Dublin. From left to right: Billy Morrison, Val Demery, Eddie Heron, Danno O’Brien, Gerry Daly Joe(The Gog) Keegan, Ed Coady. The annual gala of the Sandycove Club, was generally a two-night affair with swimming, water-polo and diving. Diving featured international spring and high-board diving, as well as the ever popular comedy and fancy dress diving performances by home and visiting divers. The local divers were led and inspired and mentored by the legendary Eddie Heron.
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks also to Manolo Demery.'The local divers were led and inspired by the legendary Eddie Heron, who was our mentor both on and off the boards - to whom a separate article could be devoted - who was supported by Matt Feddis, Danno O'Brien, Val Demery - all Irish national diving champions - and I was happy to be involved also with my close diving companions Donal Brady, Leo Keegan, Gerry Daly and Eddie Coady.
'The visiting divers mostly came from the London Highgate Club and regular visitors over the years were - Johnny Rasche, Peter Heatley, Brian Phelps, Peter Squires, Olympic, Empire and international competitors all, as well as the Connolly sisters, and many more international guest divers, some of whose names I now regrettably forget.
'For club members the highlight of the season was the annual gala, and in the case of our club Sandycove, it was generally a two-night affair with swimming, water-polo, and primarily diving, featuring exhibition international spring and high board diving, as well as the ever popular comedy and fancy dress diving performances by the home and visiting divers.'
Bicycle Dive at Blackrock Baths
The Demery brothers perform a bicycle dive at Blackrock Baths, Co. Dublin. The Annual Gala of the Sandycove Club was generally a two-night affair with swimming, water polo and diving. Diving featured international spring and high-board diving, as well as the ever-popular comedy and fancy dress diving performances by home and visiting divers. Manolo and Carlos Demery perform the bicycle dive here.
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks to Manolo Demery.Bicycle Dive at Blackrock Baths
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks to Manolo Demery.
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks to Manolo Demery.
Bicycle Dive at Blackrock Baths
The Demery brothers perform a bicycle dive at Blackrock Baths, Co. Dublin. The Annual Gala of the Sandycove Club was generally a two-night affair with swimming, water polo and diving. Diving featured international spring and high-board diving, as well as the ever-popular comedy and fancy dress diving performances by home and visiting divers. Manolo and Carlos Demery perform the bicycle dive here.
By kind permission of Billy Morrison and thanks to Manolo Demery.'For the serious exhibition, our suave announcer was Liam Boyd, who however had problems when it came to covering the madcap organised-chaos comedy diving displays, which featured diving through flaming hoops, performing from stilts and step ladders and bicycles from the ten metre platform and other innovative dives such as the famous four man chain dives from the top board, which formed the spectacular finale each year.
'This was our chance to get dressed up in fancy dress - convict uniforms, pantomime animal outfits - monkey, two-man cows, cat suits and elegant ladies outfits, high heels and a chance to indulge in cross-dressing before it was fashionable or acceptable! Members of the comedy fancy dress teams A and B, in addition to those already named included a cast of extras drawn from Ronnie Kavanagh, Noel and Philip Feddis, Michael Cunningham, Johnny Richardson, Graham Byrne, Bob Hall, Joe Kenny and a host of others down the years.
'At other galas I can remember seeing swimmers and polo players and teams from Australia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Israel, Scotland - the famous Wardrop twins, Jack and Bert, Sweden, the United States and Wales. I'm sure there were others which just escape me right now.'