Close to 130 hardy souls will take to the waters of Galway Bay tomorrow (Saturday 20 July) for the 14th annual Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the early sell-out event is one of Ireland’s biggest and longest one-day swims — comprising a 13km course between Aughinish in Co Clare and the Blackrock diving tower in Salthill, just west of Galway city centre.
This year’s swimmers will be hoping to beat last year’s fundraising total of over €100,000 for Cancer Care West.
And among them is Christina Hyland, who writes for the Galway Advertiser about her preparations for the open water swim.
Elsewhere, a charity swim of a different kind is being planned for Belfast Lough next Friday (26 July).
As the Carrick Times reports, a local councillor and five fellow swimmers will take on the challenge of crossing shipping lanes between Grey Point at Helen’s Bay and Carrickfergus Castle — a distance of nearly four nautical miles, or 7km.
