A recent 35km swim around Inis Mór in 13 hours by a Dublin man has raised over €8,500 for Aran Islands RNLI, and with donations now continuing online, all the funds raised will go towards powering the station’s lifesaving work at sea.
A Guinness World record breaking open water swimmer, Fergal Somerville’s challenge, longer than both the English Channel and North Channel, took place on Saturday 13 July when he had the optimal tide and weather conditions to take on the endeavour.
“I started the swim near the Straw Island gap and continued through the Sound,” Fergal explained. “At the southern end of Inis Mór, I met the incoming tide to swim to the northwest corner. I then swam across the northern edge of Inis Mór to take the flow of the emptying tide along the Galway facing coast to return to Carrickadda, bringing me up to 35km.”
Aran Islands RNLI Coxswain Aonghus O Hiarnain expressed his gratitude to Fergal for choosing Aran Islands RNLI as his charity of choice, “Knowing the thought and preparation that he and his team put into this mammoth swimming challenge, considering safety and weather conditions at all times, we’re all delighted he completed it with such success. It is a great personal achievement for Fergal and a wonderful fundraising success, the proceeds of which will help us to continue to save lives at sea.”
Click here to make a donation on the fundraising page, which will remain open until 31 December.
Pictured above: Aran Islands RNLI crew members Thomas Davis, Daniel O’Connell, Tommy Dirrane and Máirtín de Bhailis pictured with Fergal Somerville and his wife Mags (centre) and his support team Mark Rush and Gordon Adair (front).
