What lives under Kilkee Bay in winter

Most people think of the sea off Clare as a summer place. Underneath, the bay carries on all year, and winter has its own character: fewer divers, often cleaner water, and a different cast of animals.

Clearer water, quieter bay

Cold Atlantic water generally carries less plankton than warm summer water, and that is why visibility on calm winter days can be better than in July. The catch is the weather: Kilkee faces west, so winter swell and onshore wind decide whether any site is workable. An easterly wind flattens the bay and can make conditions very good; a westerly or northerly puts the sites out.

Who is still there

• Grey seals, which haul out and hunt around this coast through the autumn and winter. See our seal post for how to behave around them and their pups.

• Conger eels, tucked into cracks in the reef, and pollock holding along the reef edges.

• Crabs, lobsters and the small life of the rock faces and kelp, which is easier to appreciate when there are fewer fins kicking up silt.

• Anemones, sponges and other fixed animals, which do not leave for the winter and often look their best in clear water.

Some summer visitors are gone. Trigger fish and many of the warm-water drifters that arrive in late summer will have moved on or died back as the water cools. How many of the resident species are visible in any given week varies a great deal, and we would rather tell you that plainly than promise a sighting.

Dive it properly

Water temperatures in winter are low enough that the right exposure protection matters. Most Irish divers use wetsuits, and a drysuit is the step-up option for cold months. If you haven't dived genuinely cold water before, ease in with a short, shallow dive and experienced company.

Our season runs May to September, so for winter diving, ring 085 255 2064 or email hello@oceanlife.ie and ask what is possible. If you just want to see what's down there, our map of every Kilkee dive site is a good place to start planning for next year.