Adrian conquers the channel
MALLOW MAN FINALLY REALISES LIFELONG AMBITION TO SWIM ENGLISH CHANNEL
MALLOW man Adrian Healy found himself in very deep water this week.
However, it was all for a good cause, with the brave and super fit father of two achieving a lifelong ambition of swimming the English Channel to raise funds for the Mallow Daycare Centre.
To put his marvellous achievement into some perspective, more people have actually climbed Mount Everest than have conquered the channel, one of the busiest and most treacherous stretches of water in the world.
Adrian, who has been an open water swimmer for more than a decade, has been training for the channel swim for a couple of years, which included acclimatising to water temperatures that can vary from 14 to 18 degrees and waves than can exceed two metres.
He had been due to make the swim on a number of previous occasions but was forced to postpone for a variety of reasons, including poor weather conditions. Last July he came tantalisingly close to fulfilling his long held ambition, but was forced to retire close to the finish due to a wind change.
Adrian, who is no stranger to tough challenges having completed the River Lee Swim on numerous occasions, did not let that disappointment put him off and last Tuesday finally completed the 21-mile crossing from England to France in a highly respectable time of 11-hours and 49-minutes.
He was accompanied on the journey by friends and family on a boat. During the swim he was not permitted to touch the boat but was kept supplied with food and drinks at points along the way. After four hours a colleague was also allowed to accompany Adrian for a short period in the water.
His proud wife Susan said that up until last Saturday it was touch and go as to whether the latest attempt would go ahead and it was only decided to plough ahead when the weather conditions were deemed suitable.
Through the swim Adrian managed to raise just over €6,000 for the Mallow Day Care Centre.
After hearing Adrian had completed the swim a delighted Day Care Centre chairman Sean Corcoran and nurse in charge Yvonne O’Connell congratulated him on the achievement.
A message posted on the Day Care Centre Facebook page also thanked Adrian.
“We could not be more proud or grateful for his efforts. Fantastic to have such great news,” it read. Other people also left messages of congratulations on the Facebook page.