Loch Allua 2013

Loch Allua Swim, July 7th, 2013
Write-up by Diarmuid Herlihy, Swim Organiser

The most successful Loch Allua Swim to date took place on the scenic lake on the River Lee on Sunday, July 7, in ideal weather conditions. The water temperature was between 19 and 22 degrees Celsius. 64 swimmers, many of them visitors to the country, participated in this fundraiser for the Bishopstown Lions Club. Over €1,500 was raised and this will be distributed to local charities.

The annual event, now in its 6th year, was first organised by Diarmuid Herlihy (Straits of Gibraltar solo swimmer) and Jennifer Hurley (English Channel solo swimmer) in 2008. With local connections, they felt the swim would foster an interest in long distance swimming in the area as well as promoting the beautiful district between Ballingeary and Inchigeela both nationally and internationally. They have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and Sunday’s ‘field’ included 5 swimmers training for Straits of Gibraltar solo swims; 17 training for English Channel solo swims; 13 who have completed English Channel solo swims….3 of whom swam it twice! It also included 4 members of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming: English Channel, Catalina Channel and Around Manhattan Island, and two Inductess into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. Participants came from Australia, U.S.A., UK, Malawi, Switzerland, France and Ireland.

The swimmers were left off at five minute intervals, in groups reflecting their speed, with speedier swimmers bringing up the rear. Nevertheless, first home was world renowned Penny Palfrey from Australia in a time of 1hour 33 minutes. The slower swimmers took over two and a half hours to complete the 8km course. Course safety was provided by the Civil Defence, the Red Cross, Captain Tom McCarthy, West Cork kayak club and there was great local support from Denis Hurley of Lee Valley. Food was provided at Creedon’s Hotel, Inchigeela. Bishopstown Lions Club members helped out, with aid from Dan Horgan and Jerry Herlihy provided transport to and from start and finish, and Carol Cashell helped with registration and timekeeping. Swim organiser Diarmuid Herlihy wishes to thank everyone, particularly the swimmers who supported the event. We hope to see everyone back for next year’s event!

Results by Swim Time

Swim Number	Name	Swim Time	Wetsuit/ Togs
74	Penny Palfrey	1:33:59	T
71	Ned Denison	1:40:47	T
82	Rory Fitzgerald	1:41:01	T
76	Trevor Malone	1:42:43	T
73	Colm Breathnach	1:42:57	T
75	David Dammerman	1:43:53	T
81	Gabor Molnar	1:46:10	T
65	Patrick Corkery	1:46:49	T
64	Brian O’Shea	1:47:15	W
63	John Edwards	1:48:00	W
77	Helen Gibbs	1:48:30	T
72	Alan Rodgers	1:50:02	T
66	Fionnuala Walsh	1:51:29	T
78	Adrian Healy	1:52:17	W
43	JP O’Brien	1:52:44	W
31	Kevin Keane	1:52:48	T
60	Vincent Harris	1:55:33	W
80	Eddie Irwin	1:55:58	T
34	Mark Evans	1:56:03	W
50	Rebecca Stewart	2:01:37	T
57	Milko VanGool	2:02:31	T
83	Kate Steels-Fryatt	2:06:15	T
33	Shane Malone	2:06:39	W
49	Fergus Galvin	2:07:20	W
42	Carl Reynolds	2:08:29	T
28	David Lee	2:08:32	W
62	Angela Stubbs	2:08:34	W
19	Carmen Scales	2:08:41	T
30	Una McIntosh	2:08:43	W
11	Grace Clifford	2:09:03	T
68	Jonathan O’Regan	2:09:09	T
41	Haydn Welch	2:10:45	T
47	Lisa Cummins	2:10:50	T
26	Brian Lanahan	2:11:19	T
45	Robert Whyte	2:12:03	W
25	Lynsey Dunne	2:15:08	T
67	Jim Boucher	2:15:45	T
59	Aisling Corkery	2:16:29	T
32	Mark Hannigan	2:16:37	T
27	Dennis Merritt	2:17:55	W
52	Sylvain Estadieu	2:21:56	T
17	Jowita Pleskot	2:21:59	T
48	Roisin Lewis	2:23:28	T
12	Imelda Lynch	2:24:23	W
13	Oswald Schmidt	2:24:24	W
20	Jaimie Monahan	2:24:51	T
10	Maura O’Callaghan	2:25:50	T
23	Jane Dennehy	2:26:05	W
44	Sevy McCullagh	2:28:38	T
35	Bryn Dymott	2:29:02	T
24	Thomas W. Kofler	2:30:07	T
9	Sandra Howard	2:33:37	T
38	Ranie Pearce	2:35:56	T
15	Bethany Bosch	2:36:31	T
40	Cormac McKenna	2:38:50	T
1	Sarah Tunnicliffe	2:44:16	T
6	Tim McSweeney	2:46:56	W
4	Kari Lienhard-Hardman	2:47:18	T
18	Ellery Mc Gowan	2:54:46	T
7	Relay (x 4)	2:58:35	W
2	Anna Maria Mullaly	3:01:20	T
14	Mike Harris	3:01:21	T
8	Nora Irwin	3:09:25	T