SEVENTY BRAVE souls from all over Ireland set out to prove they weren’t stuck in the mud at the third Irish National Bog Snorkelling Championships at Doohamlet in Co Monaghan on Saturday.
One of the key organisers, Declan Connolly (35) from Castleblayney in Co Monaghan, was first to enter the bog lake in a bid to beat the record set last year by Dubliner Peter Cunningham (33) who completed a 120m swim, in
1 minute 24 seconds, in thick mud.
But Connolly’s effort fell short of the best time of the day chalked up by Co Armagh contender Jonathan Hilliard from Portadown, who completed the 120m swim in 1.30.
Lisa Fitzpatrick (26) from Kerry, was hoping she might set a bog snorkelling record for Irish women. In a close finish, she, and colleague Deirdre O’Callaghan (25) and Eszter Kalolzkia (20) from Hungary, were pipped at the post, by Tipperary’s Emma Delahunt (19), who completed the 60m swim in 2.27.