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Thanks to sponsorship from Camlough company, Infinity Channel Swimming, this week coming a relay team of six local women calling themselves The Grainne Ni Mhailles will be swimming the 44 kilometre distance in the Irish Sea from Templetown Beach in Co Louth to Rockabill Lighthouse in Skerries Co Dublin. Calling themselves after the infamous Irish pirate queen who represents independence, strength, and courage these fierce women will be braving the chilly waters of the Irish Sea in skins, that is without wetsuits, as per Irish Long Distance Swimming Association rules in an attempt to be the first team to complete a swim along this part of the Irish coastline.
The team expect to embark on their swim on Tuesday 13 or Wednesday 14 June depending on wind and tides.
This 44 kilometre pioneering swim is being sponsored by Infinity Channel Swimming; a professional boat chartering business based in Camlough. With a motto of ‘Glory comes from daring to begin’ Infinity have the key ingredients of experienced pilots and crew who have a comprehensive understanding of a marathon swim including the needs and the mindset of marathon swimmers and have piloted many swims across the North Channel in the past decade.
In addition to the charter services Infinity have a purpose built swimming pool located in Bessbrook where their team of passionate teachers provide expert instruction in learn to swim for all ages. Peak Performance Recruitment in Dundalk, Co Louth are also sponsoring the team kit and providing the boat pilot, Keith Garry. Keith, an accomplished marathon swimmer himself, having completed a solo swim across the North Channel and been a member of several relay teams across a number of channels, will be navigating the Grainne Ni Mhaille’s along the Irish coastline. Ciaran O’Conboirne of Celtic Clays Pottery in Omeath Co Louth designed the bespoke logo for the team.
Team Grainne Ni Mhaille
Jenn Fitzgerald is a mother and lifetime swimmer who dabbled in triathlon during her forties, completing several sprint and Olympic distance events before coming to her senses and realising triathlon is a lovely swim ruined by a long bike ride.
Jenn, who hails from Maine in the US, swam competitively for her club, ALY Dolphins, until she was 18 and also represented her school in swimming. Always a guaranteed third place finisher in the 100 m butterfly, it wasn’t until she discovered open water swimming in her thirties that she found her groove was swimming long distances. Living on the shores of Carlingford Lough has afforded her the opportunity to compete in several local open water events sponsored by Infinity Channel Swimming: sometimes even with a podium finish. She attributes her love of the water to her mother, who signed her up for swim club and never let her quit and her father, who encouraged her by taking her to swim in every lake, river, waterfall and ocean as a child. In addition, Jenn has been fortunate to enjoy the constant support and understanding of her husband and children over the years. Jenn works as a swimming teacher, open water coach and lifeguard and loves sharing her passion and enthusiasm for the water with others.
Lauren O’Malley is a mother, an open water swimmer, runner, mountain climber and adventurer. She has trekked to the north face base camp of Mount Everest and was the base camp manager for the Irish K2 expedition in 2005. In 2017 she completed the Marathon des Sables, a six day 251km ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert. In 2018 Lauren and her then11year old son completed a record holding summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. She is no stranger to tough swims, in 2019 she was part of a relay team to swim the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, completed an Ice kilometre in January and then completed an Ice Mile in November. Lauren was the first person to complete a solo swim the length of Carlingford Lough from Victoria Lock gates to the Helly Hunter life bouy at the mouth of the Lough in 2020. In 2021 was part of a three woman relay team called the Loughdown Ladies who were the first 3 person team to swim the entire length of Lough Neagh.
Oonagh Garry is a mother to two teenage boys and has been a passionate water polo player, representing Diamonds Waterpolo Club in Belfast and competing in the Division One Ladies National League. Her outstanding accomplishments with Diamonds include winning a Bronze Medal at the FINA World Masters Tournament in Budapest in 2017 and another Bronze Medal at the LEN Masters Tournament in Rome in 2022. In 2016, Oonagh and three of her Diamonds teammates set a new record by completing the North Channel in a record-breaking time of 9 hrs 56 min as part of an all-female 4 person relay team. She also participates in local sea swims organised by Infinity Channel Swimming, including the Battle of Carlingford Lough, Rostrevor to Warrenpoint, and Camlough lake swims.
In 2022, Oonagh achieved another remarkable feat by completing the Haulbowline Lighthouse Swim and currently holds the course record. Oonagh is an avid open water swimming enthusiast in the local community.
Edele Johnston took up running in her 30’s as a mother of four children and then progressed into cycling where she discovered she was a workhorse who excelled at long steady distances instead of a racehorse built for speed over short courses. Over the years she has completed numerous half, full, and ultramarathons. It was only natural that she become involved in triathlon. She gifted herself swimming lessons for her fortieth birthday and joined the Newry Triathlon Club. To date she has finished many sprint, Olympic, Ironman 70.3 and in 2023 she completed a full Ironman in Co Cork. Most of these feats have been achieved as a lone parent, something which terrified her initially but through sport and the social connection it brings; Edele realised that she was a strong and resilient mother, sportsperson and role model for her children. Of all her achievements in swim, bike, run she remains proudest of being a good parent and enjoys sharing sport with her kids through mountain biking, basketball and pier jumping. She enjoys the support of her daughters who travel with her and she relishes their experiences at seeing her fail, pick herself up and get back into the race. Edele is daunted by the impending relay but she draws on her experiences of Ironman Cork; when she was standing on the shore waiting for the race to start. She did not think about a 3.8km swim, 180 km bike, and 42 km run. Her thoughts were swim to the first bouy, swim to the next bouy, and so on. That is how Edele approaches her life and has achieved so much success.
Georgie Huston is a married mum of two who is a competitive swimmer and water polo player. In addition to achieving 2 Blues awards in 1999 & 2000 from Queen’s University Belfast which celebrates achievements of high standards of performance in sports she has competed at national and international level for Northern Ireland and Ireland. In 2002 Georgie was part of the Northern Ireland team that competed in the Commonwealth Water Polo Championships in Manchester and in 2022 she competed in the Ulster Masters Swimming Championships and the European Masters Water Polo Championships in Rome.
Georgie embarks on new challenges which push her out of her comfort zone and push her boundaries. In 2015 while living on the east coast of the US she competed in many sprint triathlons and was the New Jersey State Champion. She has also completed the Dublin and New York marathons in 2006 and 2016 respectively.
Aside from training for her next event Georgie, who is a CEO, Entrepreneur, and certified Executive Business Performance Coach, works mentoring women to change the way they lead in conjunction with bringing change to the way the world thinks about women in leadership. She has decades long career in Architecture and Project Management, Property Development and is CEO of an award winning Sports and Events Photography company in the UK.
Andrea Judge, a proud mother of two, hails from Portadown, Co Armagh. As a child Andrea’s passion for swimming ignited early on, leading her to compete for both Portadown & Lurgan ASC swimming teams. However, at age 13 she decided to step away from competitive swimming due to the increasing pressure and loss of enjoyment of the sport. Years later at the remarkable age of 43, Andrea’s deep rooted love for swimming re-surfaced, but this time she found solace and joy in open water swimming. Eager to pursue this new passion, she joined Dot’s Swimming and Open Water Club, where she could train and nurture her skills alongside like-minded individuals. Additionally, she became a proud member of the Lough Neagh Monster Dunkers, a club founded by her brother, Chris, further enriching her swimming journey. For Andrea, swimming serves as a source of freedom and adventure, allowing her to explore new horizons and push her limits. In her short span since returning to swimming she has already accomplished remarkable feats. Andrea took part in a North Channel Relay and conquered the challenging waters between Ireland and Scotland. Adding to her swimming portfolio, she was a teammate to Lauren and member of the Loughdown Ladies, a gruelling three person relay spanning the length of Lough Neagh a notable achievement of her 2021 swim season. Not content with relays, Andrea embraced the ultimate challenge by completing her first solo marathon swim in July 2022 by swimming across Dundalk Bay proving her unwavering dedication and resilience.
Andrea’s inspiration for swimming stems from her father who instilled in her a deep appreciation for the sport. His unwavering commitment to the sport fuels Andrea’s own passion encouraging her to embrace the water with every stroke. Through her journey she exemplifies the boundless joy and fulfilment that can be found when we re-connect with our true passions and she continues to inspire others with her determination, fearlessness, and unwavering love for the open waters.
