The annual Irish Times Dun Laoghaire Harbour swim on Sunday is bound to be a mere doddle for at least three of the tough competitors in the record entry of 177 for the men's race. Half Moon team-mates Shane Moraghan and Pat Manning, along with Shay Dillon of Phoenix, won't be intimidated by the one and three-quarter mile course after swimming the English Channel. But even this impressive warm-up for the Blue Riband of Irish races is no guarantee of even a place for the adventurous Dublin trio.
Only last weekend Moraghan set an Irish record for the Channel swim, 10 hours and 24 minutes, in Force 6 gales. His task off the back mark (17 minutes) at Dun Laoghaire is best put into perspective by the fact that some of the early starters will be touching the lighthouse wall (halfway mark) before he enters the water. Kevin Williamson, one of eight previous winners, is 15 seconds better off than Moraghan, with Manning and Dillon well placed off the 8:30 and 6:00 marks respectively. RTE crime reporter Paul Reynolds will be in hot pursuit off a handicap of 10:45.
Two resilient competitors stand out as favourites for this last Harbour race of the millennium. They are Steve Doyle (Sandycove) and George Dunne (ESB). Dunne is off at 13:50, a suitable advantage that should see him figure in the hectic surge towards the finish. Doyle, off at 12:35, is capable of involvement in that final shake-up should he maintain current form. In the women's race, Linda Clarke and Hillary O'Dwyer (Glenalbyn Masters) have earned the favourites' tags, but they will be pressed to endorse their ratings with past winners Claire O'Dwyer and Sandra Trappe (Dublin) included in a formidable line-up.
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