Lough Gill swim raises highest amount ever
THE Lough Gill Swim raised over €38,000 for The Northwest Hospice which was the highest figure ever from the hugely supported event which takes place in August.
The organising committee of the swim presented a cheque of €38,060.46 to Mary Forte of the Northwest Hospice last Thursday.
The swim was set up in memory of Neil McGarry, who died from cancer aged 30 and was cared from at the Hospice.
Lisa McDaniel, PRO of the Lough Gill Hospice Swim, said it was another brilliant year and thanked everyone who helped out in any way.
Sponsors, volunteers and of course the participants themselves make the event possible.
She added: “The swim couldn’t take place without the generous sponsorship and voluntary support from local businesses and organisations throughout County Sligo.
“A huge thank you to all that helped the event run so smoothly this year and contributed its fantastic success”.
This year saw 90 swimmers compete in one of the three swim events.
Some swimmers completed the 1 mile and relay swims around Doorly Park, while others took on the 10km challenge swim from Parkes Castle into the back avenue. All swimmers were required to raise a minimum amount of sponsorship in order to take part and all monies raised by the swimmers were donated directly to the Hospice. Since the swim began in 2011 over €185,000 has been raised with the highest sum being raised in 2017. The organisers would like to thank the people of Sligo and the surrounding areas for their continued generosity in supporting the event and the Hospice. They would also like to thank the swimmers for their hard work in both preparing for and completing the swim as well as their huge fundraising efforts. “We are already planning and looking forward to the 18th August 2018, which will see the swim take place for its 8th year and hope it will be another successful fundraiser for the Northwest Hospice,” Lisa added.