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The Vibes and Scribes Lee Swim
Venue: River Lee, Cork City.
Date: July 13th, 2019.
Price: €42 , €23 (under-18s).
Registration: www.leeswim.ie
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While the famous Liffey Swim in Dublin requires competitors to compete in at least six qualifying swims to take part, the Lee Swim in Cork is a handy alternative which is open to all swimmers. The course runs over 2km through the centre of Cork City, passing under 10 bridges along the way and includes a tricky upstream section of approximately 300m.
Rostrevor to Warrenpoint Swim
Venue: Rostrevor, Co Down.
Date: July 21st, 2019.
Price: £25 online, £30 on the day.
Registration: www.active.com
This is a point-to-point swim over 3.7km from the town of Rostrevor to Warrenpoint, across Carlingford Lough. Registration is at the iconic outdoor swimming baths in Rostrevor before competitors take to the water. Places are quite limited and competitors are encouraged to register online as there may not be spots open on the day.
Glendalough National Park Swim
Venue: Glendalough National Park, Co Wicklow.
Date: September 7th and 8th, 2019.
Price: 40 for each of the three races.
Registration: www.openwaterswimmer.ie
This is another event which offers three different distances - 750m, 1.5km and 3.9km - with the first two taking place on the Saturday and the longest race on the Sunday. The upper lake at Glendalough is where all three races take place, starting beside the car park. All three begin from the shore with the 1.5km and 3.9km going around St Kevin’s Bed in the middle of the lake before returning to shore.
The Great Fjord Swim
Venue: Killary Fjord, Connemara, Co Galway.
Date: October 12th, 2019.
Price: 3.9km (€41), 2km (€41), 750m (€37).
Registration: www.gaelforceevents.com
Connemara is definitely one of the most spectacular places to swim and Killary Fjord sits right between the mountains of Mayo and Galway. There are three distances in this event to cater for all abilities with the 3.9km race the longest of them, starting on shore and going around a point on the lake before returning. For the 2km and the 750m competitors are brought out in boats which they jump off and swim to shore - in the 750m you’re swimming from Mayo back to Galway.
Sherkin to Baltimore Swim
Venue: Sherkin Island, Co Cork.
Date: October 12th, 2019.
Price: €25.
Registration: www.active.com
This swim isn’t a race but instead acts as an annual fundraiser for the Wild Atlantic Pool in Baltimore. Sherkin Island sits 2km out in the bay from Baltimore, in between the mainland and Cape Clear Island. Swimmers register on the mainland at Baltimore Sailing Club before taking a ferry out to the island. From there its a straight 2km swim back to the mainland.
– This article is part of a series of consumer-based sports stories. If you have any queries, stories or issues regarding travel, tickets, sport on television or anything else you can email rcroke@irishtimes.com or via Twitter @Ruaidhri_Croke.
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