Daredevil cliff divers return to Ireland

Some of the world’s best cliff divers will return to Ireland this summer to throw themselves 27 metres into Inis Mór’s famous Poll na bPeist.

The Co Galway island will stage the third stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on June 29th, when 14 elite competitors take turns at diving into the 20ft by 50ft rectangular limestone pool.

This morning, cliff divers Blake Aldridge and Gary Hunt launched the return of the competition by performing 20 metre dives from the crow’s nest on the Jeanie Johnston, moored at Dublin’s Custom House Quay, into the Liffey.

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Gennadiy Kutsenko of the Ukraine dives into poll na bpeist during the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on Inis Mór in 2012. Photograph: Red Bull

Inis Mór had previously hosted the event in 2012.

The contest will take place in stages across Cuba, the United States, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Brazil, with competitors looking to knock reigning champion Artem Silchenko off his perch.