THE LIFFEY, dappled by September sun, looked almost inviting on Saturday as 351 brave souls took to the green-brown waters for the 90th annual Liffey Swim.
Organised by Swim Ireland and Dublin City Council, the competitors – aged from 12 to 70 – had completed four open water swims to qualify for the event.
At the start of the men’s race, which began first, a floating pontoon at Rory O’More Bridge on Watling Street bowed under the weight of the hirsute and the hairless, the swarthy and pale, the skinny and rotund.
Begoggled and in numbered white swim caps, each competitor performed his own pre-race ritual – dipping the feet in, a splash of water behind the neck, or a sign of the cross. On the signal of Lord Mayor Gerry Breen, 42-year-old Terry Joyce, from Kilbarrack, was first in the water.
Spectators increased with every bridge – the race still seeming to command all the wonder it did in Jack B Yeats’s 1923 painting of it.
Eight bridges down and Joyce still led the field, his younger brother Frank bellowing “Keep it going Terry” from dry land.
But he wasn’t to win. The pacemaker was overtaken in the final moments by 51-year-old Guinness Club swimmer and Junior Irish Water Polo coach, Brian O’Dwyer.
An underwater handshake showed the spirit of the day.
“I did my first Liffey Swim 40 years ago,” said O’Dwyer, who had the Guinness logo emblazoned on his bottom. “This is a dream come true.”
Completing the course in 25 minutes 15 seconds, would he be celebrating with a pint of the black stuff? “I don’t even drink it,” he said. “I’d prefer a glass of wine.”
Brian’s 83-year-old mother Eithne said himself and her other sons Greg, a former Liffey Swim winner, and Frank, an Ireland and Britain 200m freestyle champion, all learned to swim on the ninth lock. Was she afraid of what Brian might catch in the Liffey today? “Not at all. I grew up beside it. It’s part of my life.”
Results for the women’s race were delayed by a handicapping issue and the disqualification of some competitors for wearing wetsuits.
Ultimately, gold went to Deirdre Dunne from St Vincent’s club in Glasnevin, who won in 26 minutes 32 seconds.
It was the first Liffey Swim for the 44-year-old mother of four. “I hadn’t swam in years and only started back this year,” she said. “I needed a change. You could call it my mid-life crisis.”
Describing the 2.2km course, she said: “You hear all sorts of rumours about rats nibbling at you, but it was surprisingly pleasant. It’s a real surprise to win. I enjoyed every minute of it. I’ll definitely be back next year.”
