Sixteen-year-old Jessica Purcell, who dedicated herself to training sessions that often started as early as 4:30 in the morning, was victorious in the women’s Liffey Swim event in Dublin on Saturday. The Liffey Swim, a contest with a history running over 100 years, initiates near Rory O’More Bridge at the Guinness brewery’s Liffey-side entrance and concludes at North Wall Quay, preceding the Custom House.
Purcell, who is a member of the Aer Lingus swimming club and trains nine times every week, completed the course which goes under 11 bridges, in a mere half-hour. Despite being the last one to depart, the Co Dublin resident successfully secured the first position. She had secured the seventh position in the previous year’s race and was thrilled to have achieved a win this time.
As Dublin city basked in bright sunshine, Purcell’s mother and best friend anticipated her at the finish line. When queried about her plans to commemorate her victory, she jovially responded that she might indulge in some takeout that night.
On the same platform at Custom House Quay, where Purcell addressed her win, Paul Mulvehill, the men’s champion, also celebrated his triumph. Started swimming a decade ago, Mulvehill, is rather green to ocean swimming. Although he’s competed in the Liffey Swim several times, this is his first victory. Initially, in his debut race, he had been escorted out owing to slow progression, however, with remarkable guidance from Tony Morris, he managed to hone his skills. Mulvehill had no inkling of him nearing victory and only after receiving congratulatory phone calls post-race, did he acknowledge his achievement.
He was looking forward to marking his success with a few brews, a sentiment his family enthusiastically shared. He intended to keep with tradition and visit Mulligans on Poolbeg Street for celebratory drinks after the race.
The race was one of a pair set to occur this month following divergent proposals to run the event from Swim Ireland and Leinster Open Sea (LOS). The latter, a not-for-profit charitable entity that has managed these events for many years, accused Swim Ireland, the sport’s governing body in Ireland, of attempting to monopolise sea swimming due to its growing popularity.
Swim Ireland, however, alleged a breakdown in their relationship with LOS because of governance and additional issues, leading them to make the difficult decision of not acknowledging or affiliating the Leinster Open Sea club for the current season.
The situation remained unresolved despite an ongoing mediation process regarding the constitution of LOS, Swim Ireland’s affiliation process, and disagreements over insurance cover for the races provided by Swim Ireland. Consequently, Swim Ireland went ahead with its event, while Los scheduled its Liffey swim for the 21st of September.