At the recent Red Bull Storm Chase, Josh Angulo makes a heartfelt speech in honour of Mikey.

One of the first big features to hit was this Young Guns profile of Mikey!

Boardseeker previously caught up with Mikey over Skype, for what would prove to be quick but revealing interview.

Another of our favourite interviews is ‘This Is Why I Windsurf’ a look into what motivated Mikey, especially on those big wave days we’ve all seen him ride.

Some more Mikey videos stand out to us here at Boardseeker; looking back Mikey’s Spring Sessions from 2011,  Mikey sailing with great friend Timo Mullen in 2011 and  Mikey in NW Ireland, but of course the our favourite has to be Mikey taking on the infamous Magheroarty.

Magheroarty from Mikey Clancy on Vimeo.

Whether you knew him personally or not, what is your favourite memory of Mikey?  

Victor Fernandez

“I still can’t believe what has happen to Mikey, such a nice guy and a friend.

I first met Mikey at Gran Canaria when he first came there to learn with some of my friends from Spain. We were sharing lots of great moments together at Pozo in and out of the water. Mikey was always smiling and motivated for anything. He also came back from a big injury in one of his ankle and in 2012 he did very well at Klitmoller, sailing amazing. His father, him, my father and myself spend a great time at Klitmoller last year. I will always have a part of Mikey everywhere I windsurf.”

A picture of Mikey’s father and Victor’s father during the PWA World Cup at Klitmoller.

Finn Mullen:

“Mikey Clancy was an exceptional windsurfing talent. Competition results, unique coverage and a fearless attitude were the professional package he brought to the sport, which sponsors and fans loved equally.

A world away from the glamour of the windsurfing press however, is an isolated beach in Ireland on a windswept day, this was often when I would meet Mikey and his father Michael Sr.

On days like these there’s no reason to be here other than pure love of your sport, that love Mikey had in abundance. Selflessly he would email me with his plans for bringing international windsurfing competition to Ireland, it was always Mikey’s vision to share as much as he could his passion with the rest of the world. I wish he could see how much passion the windsurfing world had for him.

I could write about how much Mikey’s results or injury comebacks inspired me, how funny it was when I walked into Spillane’s after his first event win and he couldn’t wait to show me not his prize but the punch he’d received for being too drunk celebrating it ! – he was a true Irishman

Maybe I could write about how much he has inspired me to speak openly to friends about the importance of talking about problems, however small they may be, facing in their lives and encourage others to do likewise.

I think the most fitting tribute and celebration of Mikey’s life is to write about all of these events, for Mikey touched many peoples lives in many different ways. He showed me that a young windsurfer from Ireland with skill and determination could make it against the best in the world but also, through the courage of the Clancy family in openly talking about Mikey’s death, that no one is immune from problems in their lives and how it is our duty to seek and give help when and where ever it is needed. Next wave is for you Mikey, I know you’ll be cheering and smiling for a good one ”

Finn Mullen – “Got a wave for Mikey the other day, which I’m sure he was laughing and cheering at when I wiped out at the end

Timo Mullen:

“I last saw Mikey on the 30th Dec at the beach we shared probably 99% of our sessions together, his beloved Magheroarty. Mikey was in typical form, give me a right good slagging about what clothes I was wearing, called me ginger but as he always, and never forgot to do since the day they were born, asked me about my kids.

Mikey had slept in his van the night before that session, keeping away from a good party to stay focussed on the expected big swell the next day, the overnight temp was -4 that night proving, as if it needed proving, Mikey’s commitment and focus to his windsurfing in Ireland during the winter.

His last words to me were wise ones, “I wouldn’t bother going out it’s just big and shite!”

He was right it was big and shite; I stayed out for only 40 minutes a record in all the wrong ways for me at Magheroarty!  As Mikey drove of to the supermarket to grab a sandwich and I headed out to the water, I would never have imagined the fate that awaited Mikey.  Even more a reason to look further into this tragic invisible plight that is seemingly so unreported in Ireland, and respect to Mikey’s Mum, Dad and brother Sean for being so open about how Mikey died, hopefully this will help someone in the long run.

Thankfully my lasting memory of Mikey is the one that I always had of him, courteous, smiling, ripping up Magheroarty and giving me a good old slagging!

Mikey Clancy at Magheroarty

Katie McAnena

“Amy asked we recount a few stories, I have many! Mikey and I took so many adventures together, I don’t even know where to start.

Mikey and Katie

This photo is from our trip to Tiree in 2009. He was 19, I was 23 and we ventured off from his home house in Raheny in his brand new van after his Mum Bernie had made sure we had enough food to keep us going and his dad Michael made sure we had enough petrol and gear.

24 hours, 3 ferries and a barrel of laughs later we made it. We sailed for 5 hours then looked at eachother, cold, hungry and tired and realised we had no where to stay. Bunch of kids!

Then Mikey blew his ankle on an aerial and I (junior doctor in training) told him to suck it up and he’d be grand. But when he couldn’t walk and I had to drive that bloody massive van all the way home alone I realised my X-Ray vision wasn’t quite up to scratch and something was horribly wrong with him.

Both Mikey and his Dad, after countless operations and months of rehab always reminded me that I was the eejit who said he’d be grand. Sorry about that Mikey

Mikey, Katie and the gang

The next shot is from one of our countless trips to Kerry for the BWA events. We always stayed in the same gaff together and over the years Mikey grew from the kid who ate all my birthday cake my Mum made me and “Katie it’s your turn to make the tea”….. again, to the adult who could cook up a storm in the kitchen and down a pint (or more!) of Guinness with the lads.

My birthday’s the 5th of May and his the 14th of May so we always celebrated them in style together in Brandon Bay with cake and pints. This was 2011 in Spillanes sharing Guinness with his very dear friend Lampy and also Griff and Nathan and I.

Too many stories of pranks and parties and epic sails exist to even start. But they all involve Mikey thick in the middle of it, helping strip Muzza naked in the pub, helping kick Proffitt out of the van for being roudy, helping all the Paddies get kicked out of Hancock’s gaff for messing it up, helping me rig my gear and coach me and helping himself to a smack in the face and a bloody nose from Dan Gardner after he gloried in his win of the expression session a little too much! Hahahaha.

After this BWA trip was Mikey’s 21st in Dublin (which I missed due to the raging hangover he helped induce on me the night before in Spillane’s) and then off to Magheroarty for 2 days epic sailing. It’s the first and last time I ever sailed there, Mikey, Lampy, Griffin and I along with Timo. It was Mikey’s favourite place and he ripped, as usual, sailing rings around the rest of us.

Mikey and Katie celebrating!

The last photo is from the IWA contest in Kerry when Mikey thought he’s won the Irish title for 2011. We had cracked open the champagne and were high as kites with happiness with his Dad Michael too. It only lasted 15 minutes till Rob Jones corrected the tabulation and found out he’d won. Mikey was class in his sportsmanship about the whole thing. A true gent. The title was supposed to be his one day. Along with many, many others.

So all I have left to say is “ Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis”. Love you Mikey. Tear it up wherever you are and show ‘em how the Irish send it.

From the earliest days he was a small kid with a big heart.

Even in the various indoor and outdoor playgrounds he had amazing agility as a child. Soon he was a star midfield soccer player with his club Raheny United and although the smallest kid on the pitches in Dublin he had similar qualities to players such as Roy Keane the Irish International.

He remained loyal to Raheny Utd, refusing offers to sign for more prestigious clubs. Soon Mikey stopped playing soccer on principle over a dispute with his coach. He then joined his college rugby team St.Pauls College, Raheny where I coached and he played at scrum half, winning many accolades for his feats of bravery in a tough sport.

His summers were spent on trips around the world on fantastic family fun filled active holidays and working at Fingal Sailing School to earn enough cash for his new sport, windsurfing (school holidays in Ireland are for three months!).

It was soon very obvious that Mikey loved windsurfing and on the advice of John Power, the owner of the centre, he went on a Peter Hart clinic at Magherorarty, Donegal. Again the diminutive 15 year old excelled and won sailor of the week on the course and was hooked on wavesailing.

He signed up to national team status with a host of windsurfing brands and embarked on overseas clinics with Chris Pressler and countless trips to improve his skills. His freestyle skills were really good too! Mikey particularly loved the radical Pozo environment and it soon became his second home.

Along with Philip Koester, Alessio Stilrich, Moritz Mauch, Gerard Lopez  and many other Spanish kids, Mikey found a new set of fellow young enthusiastic windsurfers. Mikey soon was landing all the moves in Pozo and loved double forward loops.

He believed competition made him a better sailor but at heart he was a soul windsurfer.

His expertise at working out weather related windsurfing conditions saw him windsurf all the wonderful spots in Ireland. He often missed days at school and would spend time making videos rather than studying. He competed in BWA, PWA Wave Classics and IWA events over the years and suffered setbacks with his fused ankle. Never once did he give up trying because he just loved the family of windsurfers and being out on the water just enjoying windsurfing. He was a good kid too, recently getting all his fellow pros to sign a rash vest in Denmark as a gift for a seriously injured Irish windsurfer Jack Kavanagh.

I once asked him what place he finished in a BWA competition at Brandon Bay and he said:

I don’t know Dad but I had a great five hours freesailing beside the competition zone and the parties were great.

That was Mikey:  fun, happy, loving and living life full on.

Recently he qualified with a merit award at DIT in marketing and was also awarded the colleges top elite sports scholarship. His death has left a deep void in our lives and his biggest supporter Bernie his mother and his brother Sean are truly heartbroken.

All I can say, with hand on my heart, is that he loved every windsurfer and everything to do with windsurfing. Some may never know how rounded he was as a person. He helped kids at college, loved rock concerts, UFC, rugby and a whole host of other things.

Mikey and I never had a row on all our time on the road, as I listened to his rap artists and he listened to a lot of Elton John albums.

He won the Irish Championship for 15 minutes last year but laughed his head off at how funny life can be in such circumstances when he was dethroned of the title. In that very competition he competed with his ankle seriously damaged yet he never said a word to anyone. Why? He wanted to meet everyone and he might have missed out on a session at Brandon Bay!

Our family and the world is really one big family will all miss a remarkable Mikey Clancy.

Mikey Clancy a rising star in the PWA has passed away. His story is well known to many with an incredible comeback following a serious injury.Mikey loved the sea as a child and  although he only stepped on board a windsurfer at 15 years of age he made rapid progress in the sport over the following years. Windsurfing was his passion and he loved the friendships he made whether it was Victor, Timo, Klass,  Kauli or his many Irish and UK friends he made;  he always had time and fun with them. He was a consummate pro with his sponsors Fanatic, North, Ion, DIT, K4Fins and had often ridden in Storm-chase conditions in Ireland.

His family Michael, Bernie and Sean wish to thank the thousands who celebrated Mikey’s life  In Dublin this week and all those who were sent their condolences from around the globe. We will miss Mikey and  remember him fondly for his sportsmanship kindness and friendly manner.Your smile and humour lit up many a windsurfers day. May you dance on the seas of heaven as you once danced on the seas of the ocean.

Bye Mikey …we will all see you soon.

Here is a piece on Mikey that appeared in the Irish Mirror. Please read it and if you are ever troubled tell a friend and seek help.

Mikey Clancy 1990 to 2013.

THE DAD of a top windsurfer who took his own life at the weekend has appealed to others who are feeling down to get help. Professional windsurfer Mikey Clancy, 22, was discovered dead on Sunday and last night his devastated father Michael recalled his exceptional life.

“We are very happy that we had a fantastic 22 years of life with him and sadly some people’s lives are shorter than others.

“A book can be a short story or it can be a grand novel. What he had packed into his life was amazing.”

In a heartbreaking interview Michael appealed to other young people not to make the same fatal choice.

“It’s a horrendous cultural thing that Ireland is developing, it really is. It seems to be getting worse rather than better.”

He continued: “It is almost like a click option on your phone. It’s almost like press button A if you want to do one thing and press button B if you want to commit suicide.

“It’s almost like a disposable thing.”

Exceptionally talented Mikey, from Raheny in North Dublin, rose to prominence when he was a teenager and was largely touted as the “next big thing” amongst windsurfing enthusiasts.

He made the step into the professional sport in 2009 and quickly shot up the ranks, doing battle with world champions. He ultimately finished 25th in the world in that year but was forced to quit the sport for some time after he suffered a crushing injury.

Michael explained that his son had to undergo painful surgery but he defied doctors to make it back onto the world tour again in 2012.

Michael, a former TV cameraman with RTE, said: “He had a serious injury but he returned to the world scene again. He had an ankle fusion where you have one bone fused onto another.

“You lose your flexibility as a result of it. Doctors told him he would never windsurf again but he actually made it back onto the world tour and he finished 13th in a big world event in Denmark this year.

“He was really a warrior.

“He got to the very top of world windsurfing twice, once before the injury and once after the injury.”

Mikey was also a dedicated worker who had recently qualified with a diploma in marketing and advertising from DIT – where he was on an Elite Sport Scholarship Programme. Most recently he was working with Catapult media event organisers. However it was in the seas and waves of the world that Mikey made his greatest impression.

Recently Mikey and his father embarked on a mammoth road trip to events in Germany and Klitmoller, Denmark where he competed against the best. In the Danish event he defied the odds to finish 13th.

Mikey had been earmarking 2013 as the year he was going to break into the world top 10 in windsurfing and in the last number of days he had been talking excitedly on social media forums about the future.

However tragedy struck on Sunday.

Michael said: “Whilst we are extremely heartbroken and shocked at the news we want to celebrate that he had a good innings in a lot of aspects.”

He continued: “He has had a great Odyssey and journey and he certainly forged a way forward in a difficult market.”

Michael spoke of his horror at the growth of suicide in Ireland and called for the matter to be treated differently: “I saw a doctor on TVs Prime Time and he said we have got to be open and honest about this whole thing. This whole thing of it being glorified, this is the wrong option, this is the wrong thing to do.”

“This is not the right way to go forward in life.”

Michael added: “The more common it is the more easier it becomes.

“It’s easier to hear about things through social media so it becomes more mainstream and that’s where, from my point of view, it’s rocketing out of proportion.

“The amount of people who are attempting it is just incredible.”

Mikey leaves behind his brother Sean and parents Michael and Bernie.

His ashes will be spread over the various beaches in Ireland during the year.

*Scroll down for updates*

Today we heard the heart wrenching news that one of the sports most loved windsurfers left us late last night. A true friend to many, a passionate ambassador for windsurfing and never a bad word to say. This weekend the windsurfing world lost a rising star, you will not be forgotten as you enriched the lives of so many.

Still in shock we don’t yet have any more details to give as the family wish to understandably remain in privacy at this time. For now, we have a photo tribute of our dear friend Mikey Clancy. We also include his Bio from his website in his words.

Rest in peace Mikey, you are missed.

Mikey Clancy

Age: 22

Weight: 76kg / 168lbs

Fav Board and Sail Combo: 75 Fanatic Quad and 4.2 North HERO

Fav Move: Taka

Best Results:  25th Overall PWA World Tour, Irish Junior Champion, Irish U19 Champion

Top 3 Spots: Magheroarty, Belmullet and Etang Sale

Regular or Goofy: Regular

Ugg Boots are…the bomb after cold winters sesh

Kitesurfers...are never out when it’s windy!

When I put on a wet wetsuit in winter… I’m glad because it means it’s going off

My Mum and Dad… are the BEST parents you could ask for

If I wasn’t windsurfing I’d be...missing out on all this wind and swell!

Update 11th January

As yet we still do not have the exact circumstances surrounding the passing of our dear friend Mikey Clancy and we remain respectful to his families wishes of some peace to mourn their loss, a loss we can only begin to comprehend. However, the tributes continue to flood the windsurfing world and the world of social media as the exact impact that this young Irish wave sailor had on so many peoples lives comes to light. It would be impossible to highlight them all so instead we choose the video tributes that have been released.

Firstly, Chris and Kerstin from continentseven.com share this video that they put together from a memorable moment in Mikey’s life when he took on the double mast high sets in 2011 at Puertito during the Fuerteventura Wave Classic.

Secondly, you may have already seen this on our homepage, where it shall remain for some time. Alfie Hart from Aeolus Productions, good friend of Mikey and boardseeker’s very own Video Producer pieced together a large selection of clips from the last 2/3 years. A moving video which portrays Mikey’s personality well, thank you to Alfie and the Continentseven team for these two clips.

These were his words after that session “This is why I love windsurfing so much and having epic sessions like this are pure magic”

On top of that there is a really heartfelt interview and tribute to Mikey over on Continentseven.com. The interview was still in the process of emails back and forth so some may find it hard to read as he reflects on his last year and talks about his dreams for 2013 and beyond.