Artur "Conrad" Kozłowski (17 October 1977 – 5 September 2011) was a Polish
cave diver who spent his last years in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
Amongst other achievements in cave exploration, he set the record for the deepest cave dive in
Great Britain and Ireland at a depth of .
Biography
Career
Kozłowski came to Ireland from
Poznań
Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
, in Poland, in 2006 and worked as a quantity surveyor. His projects included the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...
and Heuston Square developments in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. He would later play an important role in compiling maps for
Galway County Council and the
National Roads Authority for the design and development of the
N18 road (Now the
M18 motorway).
Introduction to cave diving
When he moved to Ireland, Kozłowski was a qualified
diver, with 13 warm
open water dives under his belt. Shortly after his arrival he became interested in underwater
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
exploration, and began learning cave diving with the
Welsh cave diving instructor
Martyn Farr in 2007.
He began diving in the Hell Complex, part of the Green Holes group of underwater
sea cave
A sea cave, is also known as a littoral cave, a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as re ...
s off
Doolin,
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
and initially used the area as a training ground for his newly acquired skills.
He soon began exploring and
mapping undiscovered passage, and by July 2007, he had made his first significant breakthrough, making the first traverse between Hell's Kitchen and Robertson's Cave in the nearby Reef Complex.
Exploration
Kozłowski was responsible for many extensions to cave systems in both Ireland and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, the most notable being the extension to the
Marble Arch Caves system in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
. In 2009 and 2010 diving connections were made to nearby cave systems by Kozłowski, firstly to Prod's Pot – Cascades Rising, doubling the total length of the system from 4.5 to , and subsequently to newly established Monastir Sink – Upper Cradle system, extending the wider system further to . The discoveries make this the longest cave in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
.
In 2008 he set the record for the deepest cave dive in Great Britain and Ireland at a depth of in
Pollatoomary, near
Killavally,
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
, Ireland.
Perhaps his most notable achievement was the exploration of over of underwater passage in the notoriously unforgiving cave passages of the
Gort
Gort ( or ) is a town of around 2,800 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 road (Ireland), R458 and R460 ...
region, including the discovery and exploration of Pollindre, 1 km in length and the third deepest
sump in Great Britain and Ireland at .
In March 2011 Kozłowski received the Kolosy award for cave exploration at the annual Polish travelling and outdoor sports conference, held in
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...
.
Writing and public speaking
Kozłowski was a passionate advocate of exploration and diving; his blog
recounted in detail his underwater adventures. His latest discoveries filled the pages of the journal ''
Irish Speleology'' and ''
Descent'' magazine.
He was also an engaging public speaker; his January 2011 talk at
NUIG/
GMIT Sub Aqua Club was well received.
Death and legacy
Kozłowski died during a cave dive in the Gort lowlands on 5 September 2011. His body was successfully recovered on 10 September 2011 after an extensive recovery effort over several days by a team including Jim Warny, Jason Mallinson,
Rick Stanton and
John Volanthen. The cave in which he died is called Pollonora 10, in
Kiltartan, County Galway, Ireland, and his body was found at the then known limits of the cave, at a depth of and approximately from the entrance.
On 15 September, Kozłowski was buried in the nearby cemetery after a service at St Attracta's church, attended by
gardaí, divers and members of the
Irish Cave Rescue Organisation, friends, family and members of the local community.
In August 2012, in recognition of his contribution to Irish
speleology
Speleology () is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their chemical composition, composition, structure, physical property, physical properties, history, ecology, and the processes by which they form (speleogenes ...
, the
Speleological Union of Ireland set up the Kozłowski Fund to support original cave exploration in Ireland.
In 2013, a fundraising page was set up in order to pay for a headstone for Kozłowski 's grave in Kiltartan, and for a plaque to be erected at the entrance to Pollonora 10. The plaque and headstone were engraved by a
Gort
Gort ( or ) is a town of around 2,800 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 road (Ireland), R458 and R460 ...
-based stonemason and on 6 September 2014, marking the third anniversary of Kozłowski's death, the gravestone and plaque were unveiled to a gathering of friends and family.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Official Website* (in Polish with English subtitles)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozlowski, Artur
1977 births
2011 deaths
Cave diving explorers
Polish explorers
Polish underwater divers
Speleologists
Underwater diving deaths
Sportspeople from Greater Poland Voivodeship
Sportspeople from Poznań
Pioneering technical divers