HENRY DIGS DEEP FOR ROUND IRELAND SWIM

A FORMER Army Ranger, who is bidding to become the first person to swim around the coast of Ireland, has admitted he’ll need to “dig deep” to complete the remainder of his challenge.

Henry O’Donnell has just revived an epic, historymaking quest to solo fin-swim round the country, after being forced to suspend the challenge earlier this year due to rising COVID-19 levels.

However, the 57-year- old Donegal native, who had completed over 700kn of the mammoth swim before temporarily calling it off last February, was finally able to re-launch the gruelling challenge off Co Waterford on Friday.

Since re-starting, the super-fit father- of-six has already covered almost

40km in just two days, arriving at Ballycotton in east Cork on Saturday.

And although yesterday’s swim was called off due to bad weather,

Henry said he was “delighted” with his progress.

The security consultant, who is aiming to raise €100,000 for the

Irish Cancer Society and Water Safety Ireland, is being supported by a team of 10 volunteers, as he continues his course clockwise around the coast.

He is aiming to finish the challenge in six months’ time, when he’ll be guaranteed a hero’s return as he reaches the finishing point in his native Carrickfin, Co Donegal – the same spot from which he initially set off in September last year.

Mammoth

The seasoned sea swimmer – who’s undergone a punishing training regime on both land and sea, including sleep deprivation and sleep disruption exercises – admitted he’ll need to dig deep into his years of experience to complete the mammoth quest.

“I feel confident and I feel prepared, but it won’t be easy, and the south and west coasts of Ireland lie ahead, and they are likely to be extremely challenging,” he admitted.

“As hard as it will be physically, it’ll be even more mentally demanding, and

I’ll need to utilise all my 50 years of experience to succeed.”

To track Henry’s progress, or donate to the fundraiser, check out finswim2020.com.