Legal Dispute Over Liffey Swim Rights Ends in Settlement

22nd July 2025

Afloat.ie Team

File image of a previous Liffey Swim in Dublin city centre Credit: Infomatique/Flickr

A legal wrangle over the hosting of the historic Liffey Swim has come to an end with both parties reaching a settlement, according to The Journal.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Leinster Open Sea (LOS) had filed legal proceedings against Swim Ireland to prevent it from organising a “duplicate” Liffey Swim and Dun Laoghaire Harbour race this year.

LOS accused Ireland’s national governing body for swimming of attempting to take over the Liffey Swim, which it hosted for a number of years.

Swim Ireland, meanwhile, suggested that it had “governance concerns” regarding LOS.

In a statement issued on Tuesday (22 July), Swim Ireland said it welcomed LOS’s acknowledgement that “Swim Ireland owns all property rights in both the Dublin City Liffey Swim and the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Swim, which have been running since 1920 and 1930 respectively”.

It also said that the settlement “unequivocally reaffirms Swim Ireland’s proprietary rights and long-standing stewardship of these cherished events”.

This year’s Liffey Swim is scheduled for Saturday 13 September.

The Journal has more on the story HERE.

Published in River Liffey

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