'I'll never forget when I did my first dive' - Proud member of Kilkenny Sub Aqua Club

Meet Tara, a 28-year-old Kilkenny woman who is a proud member of the sub aqua diving club in Kilkenny.

Tara Treacy lives near Graiguenamanagh with her mum, dad and two foster siblings.

She is the proud member of Kilkenny's sub aqua club, operating since 1975, which is a long-held passion that has run in her family for many years.

"I've been scuba diving for nearly eight years now," Tara told Kilkenny Live. "I suppose I've always kind of been a member of the Kilkenny Sub Aqua Club but I'm officially a member this year.

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"I got my scuba diving qualifications down in Cork in UCC (University College Cork) when I was an undergrad down there and I suppose the diving element came from my family. So my uncle Sheedy is an active member of the Kilkenny Sub Aqua Club, he's a search and recovery diver."

Tara also said that her dad and other family members have been involved with the sub aqua club over the years.

"I suppose growing up it was always something close to my family. I would have gone with them to dive sites on a Saturday or Sunday if they were going diving and it was always something I knew I wanted to do, especially seeing the love that they have for it.

Tara described an experience of scuba diving that she will never forget.

"I'll never forget when I did my first open water dive and I had all the gear on me and I was down maybe a metre in the water and I was like, 'I am still alive, I am breathing, yet I'm underwater' and from there it's really just taken off for me and when I was in college, I was part of the UCC Sub Aqua Club.

"I went to Malta and Lanzarote to go diving with them. In my final year of college I was the club captain which is a really great achievement because I was one of the first females.

"It was mainly males that would do it and now with my uncles, you know, we've got an even stronger relationship because all we talk about is diving which is great you know".

Keeping active and fit is a big part of Tara's life. She even met her boyfriend because of her love for fitness. She recently completed a hyrox which is a fitness challenge growing in popularity in recent years.

"I've always tried to stay active and keep fit. I always had an interest in doing a hyrox, or cross. I thought it was really cool learning different kinds of tricks like handstands and I thought it was always a cool activity rather than just going to the gym and lifting some weights.

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"You're lifting weights but also learning new skills and that was somewhere where my boyfriend Connor, we actually bonded over that when we first met, and now we go to CrossFit quite regularly here in Kilkenny.

"We met at a gym in Cork and then over the last maybe two years we've done three hyrox events. I've done one of my own, I did one with Connor and then I did the one most recently in Kilkenny with my friend Gráinne."

Farming is also an important part of Tara's life having grown up on her family farm.

O'Kelly Feed Mills farm is in Tara's family since her granddad bought it initially and left it to her uncle.

"I'm from the countryside in Kilkenny here and so farming has always been a big part of my life within helping my uncle on the farm, going to ploughing matches. I really enjoy it.

"My uncle has another farm as well; he has a dry stock farm. I always loved going on the farm helping them. I love animals too but particularly with the piggery, that's a big piece that I am really proud to have in my family particularly."