Cappa to California

Swimming the Waters of the World

Wed 7th August 2024

Fionnuala grew up in Cappa, Kilrush where her love of swimming in the majestic River Shannon began. Blessed with stunning scenery around Cappa, her passion for swimming was fostered by the back drop of the Cliffs at Alyevaroo, Scattery & Hog Islands, looking across at Co. Kerry, with the mouth of the Estuary and Loop Head in the distance.

Fionnuala does not recall learning to swim: “We just did, my two sisters and three brothers lived for our summers at Cappa. I grew to be an open water swimmer, though I never swam competitively as a child, or belonged to a club until much later, with Seaworld Masters in Lahinch, Limerick Masters and more recently Ennis Masters clubs.”

Fionnuala has been extremely fortunate to have lived and worked all over the globe and availed of any lake, sea, ocean or pool that she came across where she could swim safely.

Fionnuala had a childhood dream to swim the English Channel, in 2012 she made Channel Swimming history, but not in a way she would have wanted or ever dreamt of. In unprecedented circumstances her first attempt was aborted on safety grounds two hundred meters from the finish in France, because of a dense fog that enveloped the French coast line.

To quote: Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation, from October 2012:

“Real Heros Never Give Up”

When things don’t go to plan, you have two choices: give up or try again. It’s what one does with setbacks that makes us who we are, and this is where true heroes shine through.

This morning Fionnuala Walsh slipped into the cold Channel waters to complete her dream, which was dashed two months earlier by fog, a couple of hundred metres from French sand. She kept the swim low profile, but swam a brilliant swim today, and finished in 15 hours and 26 minutes.

Fionnuala is an example to us all. We all congratulate you wholeheartedly.

In this talk, Fionnuala will share personal insights of her many adventures, some heart-breaking moments, and entirely justifiable satisfaction with her success in Open Water Swimming over the last decades.

speaker

Fionnuala Walsh

date

Wed 7th August 2024

time

8:00 PM

location

Cultúrlann Sweeney,
O’Connell St.,
Kilkee V15 P960

admission

Free

About the speaker

Fionnuala Walsh

Fionnuala Walsh has competed in countless swims along the Wild Atlantic Way mostly in counties Clare, Cork and Kerry. Her first international swims were Malta to Gozo 2009 and Queen of the Sea Lisbon 2011.

Fulfilling a lifelong ambition; Fionnuala was the first individual from Co. Clare and 15^th Irish Female to swim the English Channel in 2012. A swim known as: “The Everest of Open Water Swimming”.

Following what proved to be a roller coaster journey, Fionnuala became the first Irish Female and 89^th individual in the world to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming by successfully completing the English Channel 2012, the Catalina Channel 2013 and Manhattan Island Swim 2014.

In October 2015, Fionnuala set a new Irish record for the Strait of Gibraltar Swim (14.4 km) in 3 Hours and 30 minutes, an accolade she very much enjoyed until August 2023.

Together with Ned Denison and Liz Fry, both International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF), Fionnuala completed the first ever group marathon: Anti-clockwise around Anacapa Island (Santa Barbara, California 18km) in November 2016.

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Joseph J. McCloskey

Honorary Secretary,

Kilkee Civic Trust.

secretary@kilkeecivictrust.org

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