Frank Mullen won’t let Parkinson’s disease deter him from completing an epic 300km paddle of the River Shannon by kayak this summer.

As Dublin Live reports, the 61-year-old Donabate man will set out on 28 June on a planned 10-day adventure to paddle the length of Ireland’s longest river.

Mullen will be embarking on the challenge to raise funds for Parkinson’s Ireland, which has supported him since his diagnosis last year.

Following his neurologist’s advice to “do more” of whatever he does to keep fit, Mullen says: “Exercise these days can be really be looked on as a form of medicine. As a kayaker, I always thought I’d love to do something unusual or challenging in kayaking.”

Dublin Live has more on the story HERE.

Paddy Conaghan worked in tunnels in Thailand, Hong Kong, Denmark, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and every place from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

But he says his greatest achievement was driving and ducking 515 times at beaches clockwise around Ireland as he celebrated his 82nd birthday.

Paddy set off on his latest quest on 4 December, having previously faced the challenge of diving off as many piers as possible anti-clockwise around Ireland.

His first challenge raised over €100,000 for local counselling service Gemma’s Legacy of Hope. And his chosen charities this time include one close to his heart: the RNLI.

“I chose the RNLI because I am very familiar with the work they do in saving lives at sea,” Paddy said. “We have a lifeboat on Arranmore since 1883 that has saved many lives and I thought the RNLI would be a safe bet if I got into bother in my ventures around the coast. They also rely on fundraising by the public so I hope I can raise some money for them.”

Paddy was supported at every swim by people who turned out to swim with him, supplied him with food, towels and the odd bottle of whiskey to stave off the cold.

Owners of the Arranmore Blue Ferry, Seamus and Louise Boyle supplied him with a van and kitted it out with bedding and cooking appliances and Paddy chose to stay full-time in the van despite many offers of bed and breakfast. Paddy felt it added to the challenge to stay in the van, enduring temperatures of -2 degrees.

Prior to completing his final swim at Maghery beach in Donegal, Paddy was thinking of how this venture might end and came up with the idea of leaving his final swim for somebody else to start a similar challenge.

In Paddy’s own words: “I would really like somebody else to continue this challenge on a yearly basis, always leaving Maghery beach for the next challenger. I am so glad to have completed the circuit twice, it gave me a great sense of satisfaction to do something for the various charities, I wasn’t doing much else with my life.”

Nora Flanagan, Arranmore RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer spoke to Paddy on arrival back in Arranmore last Sunday 13 March and said: “Paddy is the most unassuming, modest man I have the pleasure to know.

“I asked him about his World Open Water Swimming Awards Man of the Year award, an award which celebrates individuals and offerings that embody the spirit of open-water swimming and have positively impacted the community, showcasing their determination, fortitude, sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance, and he said he didn’t think he deserved it because many people swim in the sea. Yes they do, but not many would dive into the sea several times a day around Ireland in the middle of winter to raise funds for charity.

“The RNLI is a charitable institution which relies on people like Paddy to help keep the lifeboats afloat. Many people volunteer with the RNLI as crew, fundraisers and shore crew and together our one aim is to support the lifeboats to continue saving lives.

“I asked Paddy what he’s going to do now with time on his hands and all he said was, ‘I’m thinking’ and I have no doubt that he is.”

If you wish to donate to Paddy’s charities, visit his iDonate page HERE.

The ‘All in a Row’ charity challenge for 2022 is coming to the Dublin’s River Liffey on Saturday 3 December with teams looking to smash a target of 1,000km rowed in eight hours.

Forty skiffs, four Dragon boats, kayaks, canoes and currachs will all be on the water to raise funds for RNLI lifeboats and the Irish Underwater Search and Recovery Unit.

Organisers are hoping to exceed last year’s target of rowing 1,000km during the event on the river, which will start from St Patrick’s Rowing Club at the Tom Clarke Bridge (formerly the East Link Bridge) and finish at the Ha’penny Bridge.

The challenge is being undertaken with the aim of showcasing the River Liffey as one of Dublin’s best amenities while raising funds for two vital water-related charities. The event raised €20,000 in 2021.

The action gets under way start from 8.30am on Saturday 3 December and at 1pm all boats will gather on the Liffey at the Sean O’Casey footbridge where wreath-laying ceremony, attended by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, will take place to commemorate all those who have lost their lives through drowning.

Many Dublin rowing clubs have their home on the River Liffey and are a regular sight on the water. At the port end of the river is St Patrick’s Rowing Club, Stella Maris Rowing Club, East Wall Water Sports Group and Poolbeg Yacht and Boat club. Ringsend Basin is home to the Plurabelle Paddlers (Dragon boats) and the Dublin Viking Dragon boats.

At the other end of the city, beyond Heuston Station, there are many river rowing clubs and kayaking clubs including Phoenix Rowing Club. And rowing clubs from other parts of Ireland will also join in the challenge.

Competitors are asked to raise sponsorship for the event, and for spectators and supporters there is an iDonate page where one can give towards two very worthy water safety and rescue causes.

An intrepid duo intend to cross the Irish Sea from Wales to Wicklow this weekend in an unusual fashion — paddling on their bellies.

Damien Wildes and Charlie Fleetwood will assume the prone position on their stand-up paddleboards from Holyhead in the early hours of this Saturday 9 July for the crossing to Greystones, which they expect to take somewhere between 14 and 20 hours.

Each will be assisted by their own volunteer-operated support boat for the endurance feat in which they hope to raise at least €15,000 for three local charities: Purple House Cancer Support, Wicklow SPCA and Wicklow RNLI.

“Completing the prone crossing will be a world’s first,” Damien told Greystones Guide, “and I know not many people have actually made it across by SUP, so Charlie will make it onto a very short and very illustrious list.”

The pair’s iDonate page has more on their plans HERE.

After 55 days at sea, the St Michael’s Rowing Club duo of Kevin O’Farrell and Rob Collins completed their epic journey across the Atlantic earlier this week.

Setting off from southern Portugal in early April in a small craft as part of a four-man crew, alongside Dutch rowers Ralph Tujin and Somon van de Hoek, the Irish pair battled rough seas, technical hitches and physical injuries to arrive in French Guiana 55 days later.

Using just their own strength and the ocean currents, the crew worked in two-hour shifts, day and night, for nearly two months. They had to hunker down in a tiny cabin off the coast of Portugal when they hit a storm with sea swells the size of a house. Then, they were nearly run over by a tanker off the coast of the Canary Islands.

Hard luck hit when they realised they had to repair their boat in the Cape Verde islands as their navigation equipment broke. An unexpected challenge was to battle a four-hour onslaught from a shoal of flying fish in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Rob Collins (left) and Kevin O’Farrell at sea in their four-person ocean rowing boat

But it was all worth it as on Monday (30 May), they rowed up the Kourou River to reach their final destination, the small town of Kourou in French Guiana, where they were greeted with fireworks and a few well-deserved beers.

A very warm welcome awaits the ‘Salty Pair’ of Robert and Kevin back in Dun Laoghaire, where fellow St Michael’s members will gather round a pint of choice to hear their stories and be inspired by their adventures.

Robert and Kevin rowed across the Atlantic in aid of Muscular Dystrophy Ireland - inspired by Fionn, who lives with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy.

A voluntary organisation, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland supports kids like Fionn and their families by providing a wide range of respite and support services all year-round, advocating for their community and educating society about neuromuscular conditions and supporting researchers and clinicians to carry out quality research into neuromuscular conditions.

Donations to Robert and Kevin’s fundraising effort can still be made via iDonate HERE.

Two members of St Michael’s Rowing Club in Dun Laoghaire are preparing to row across the Atlantic for a special cause — and faster than anyone has before.

Robert Collins and Kevin O’Farrell are aiming to break the world record for the fastest row from mainland Europe to mainland South America in aid of Muscular Dystrophy Ireland — inspired by the son of a family friend who was diagnosed with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy.

Starting in Portugal this Friday 1 April, they will be rowing as part of a five-person crew, non-stop for at least 48 days across the Atlantic to French Guiana in South America — spending every day together in a small boat, battling the weather and the ocean.

They will be rowing 12 hours each day, two hours on, two hours off. Their crew will be unsupported, carrying all equipment and food necessary to sustain them on their expedition.

The so-called ‘Salty Pair’ has previously trained for the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge despite no prior experience in rowing, but were forced to withdraw due to the “challenges we faced in preparing for the race during a global pandemic”.

The five-person crew in training for ‘Kev and Rob’s Atlantic Row’

Robert and Kevin said of their latest attempt: “We’re raising funds for a charity close to our hearts. Fionn, the son of a family friend, was diagnosed with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy at the age of three. It is a muscle-wasting disease with a poor prognosis.

“Inspired by Fionn’s story, we will be raising funds for Muscular Dystrophy Ireland, who have given Fionn, his family and other afflicted families incredible support through the toughest times a parent can imagine.”

A voluntary organisation, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland supports kids like Fionn and their families by providing a wide range of respite and support services all year round, advocating for their community and educating society about neuromuscular conditions and supporting researchers and clinicians to carry out quality research into neuromuscular conditions.

To support Kev and Rob’s Atlantic Row, donate via the iDonate website HERE. All money raised will go to their chosen charity, with the rowers bearing all costs linked to the row itself.

A Donegal octogenarian has completed his marathon effort to swim at as many spots around the Irish coast as possible — raising more than €100,000 for charity in the process.

As the Sunday World reports, Paddy Conaghan skipped Christmas and even his own 81st birthday bash to round the island of Ireland in his van for the ‘Ducking & Driving Around Ireland’.

Paddy set out at the start of December, working his way anti-clockwise from his home on Arranmore, as previously noted on Afloat.ie.

Despite some hiccups along the way — including a change of van after an unfortunate breakdown in Kerry — he returned home to a hero’s welcome yesterday (Saturday 12 February) having raised a six-figure sum for local counselling service Gemma's Legacy of Hope.

The Sunday World has more on the story HERE.

Six sea swimmers from Ireland have succeeded in their attempt to cross the North Channel in winter — setting a new record in the process.

According to RTÉ News, the members of the Walrus Swim Team completed the 35km relay swim from Donaghadee in Northern Ireland to Portpatrick in Scotland in just under 13 hours on Friday (14 January).

And what makes their achievement even more remarkable is that the sextet — who met while swimming at the Forty Foot in Dublin — took to the chilling waters of the North Channel without the protection of wetsuits.

A team of six swimmers from Ireland have set an historic record - completing the North Channel swim from Ireland to Scotland, without wet suits, in winter. ?‍♂️ ?‍♀️

The Walrus Swim Team finished the epic challenge in just under 13 hours yesterday evening. | https://t.co/HHmsjrJfFr pic.twitter.com/ZRu9h9LtQK

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 15, 2022

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

A team of six sea swimmers aim to make history later this week with the first crossing of the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland in winter.

As RTÉ News reports, the Walrus Swim Team comprises regulars at the Forty Foot in south Dublin who met during the pandemic as indoor pools were closed.

This Friday 14 January, the six — Dave Berry, Declan Bradshaw, Vincent Donegan, Ger Kennedy, Niamh McCarthy and Colm Morris — will take to the water at Donaghadee in Northern Ireland for the 35km relay swim to Portpatrick in aid of the the Gavin Glynn Foundation, which supports families fighting childhood cancer.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

An intrepid pair of kayakers are now five days into their 10-day adventure paddling the length of the River Shannon from source to sea.

Eoin Connolly and Ronan McDonnell skipped the usual festive fare as they set out on Christmas Eve in their two-person kayak to tackle the epic 360km route.

And it’s all for a good cause, specifically the Rafiki Network which assists young mothers in Zimbabwe by providing them with support for mental health and income generation.

Follow Eoin and Ronan’s progress on their Instagram page as they aim to complete the challenge in the coming days.

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