By Kevin Williams
With our weather patterns similar to last year , it has been playing havoc with our swim schedule and resulted in three postponements . With a short break in the weather last week it was decided to run off 2 events.
First up was The Donald Walsh Memorial Swim and BBQ on Tuesday evening sponsored by Dominic Walsh Photography . 2 perpetual trophies were up for grabs . A warm balmy evening with flat calm seas made for some great confident racing amongst the 76 participants.
While the competition was great in all 3 groups ., the usual fight for places in Grp A made for some great spectating . The BBQ was fired up by the catering volunteers and the delicious smells wafting across the bay no doubt spurned on some of the swimmers!
The results were out very quickly and group winners were announced . Grp C Leanne McCarthy , Paudie McQuinn and Bridget Moore . Grp B Sandra Byrne , Mairead Fox and Maura Hayes . Grp A Rose Browne , Martin ORegan and Stephen Reidy.
Winner of The Donald Walsh Perpetual Shield for fastest time was Michael OConnell and winner of The Donald Walsh Memorial Trophy was Sandra Byrne . Congratulations to all of the winners and a big thanks to the volunteers .
The Brendan O’Callaghan Cup was up next on Thursday eve with very different weather ! Wind , rain and choppy seas greeted the swimmers to the slip . The course was the same 1500 m course as Tuesday night .
It certainly made for some great racing but this time the more experienced swimmers who are used to poor conditions came through to the top . The Brendan O’Callaghan Cup is the oldest in the club and dates back to c 1952 .
This cup was presented yearly to the winner of a race from the slip to the pier and was known as the Pier Cup . Very few swimmers were capable of this swim at the time and it was a huge accolade to win it .
The last winner of the cup was Brendan O’Callghan in 1958 .
Brendan arrived to one of our swims in 2007 and re-donated the cup to the club and has since been called The Brendan O’Callaghan Cup .
Some ragged swimmers emerged from the water and the times were quickly calculated and handicaps applied . Winners Grp A Neil Fitzgibbon , Cillian Tierney , Stephen Reidy , Grp B John OSullivan , Mags OSullivan , Sandra Byrne and Grp C Nicola Moore , John Quilter and Jackle Ruttledge. Winner of The Brendan O’Callaghan Cup was Nicola Moore.
Swimmer of The Year
With three races left we are into the serious side of The World Series competition. Leading on 14 points is Sandra Byrne with Elaine Burrows Dillane and Sinead Kelliher closely behind on 12 points.
Chasing the pack is a currently, very in form, Stephen Reidy. There are still over 26 swimmers capable of gaining enough points to win though so it looks like it may come down to a handful of swimmers in the final race .
Next up is The Lighthouse Swim and BBQ on August 4. See you all there!
