Andy Irons Passes Away

The incredibly sad news that Andy Irons, 32, has passed away spread through the surfing community like wildfire the afternoon of November 2.  First many hoped it was a false alarm, but slowly the stories were confirmed.

The exact cause of death is unknown at this point in time, but it is believed to have been caused by Dengue fever which has been causing a small epidemic in the Caribbean.  Andy was returning home after withdrawing from the ASP Rip Curl Pro Search in Puerto Rico due to illness, and was too sick to board his connecting flight to Hawaii from Texas.  As yet unconfirmed reports say he was found dead in his hotel room.

Our condolences to the family and friends of Andy.  It is incredibly sad and surreal that his life was cut short so soon.

For more up to date information stay tuned to Surfermag.com.

To an Athlete Dying Young
by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields were glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.