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Irish Times
7 days ago
- Irish Times
On my swim the water tastes industrial, of fuel and metal and dirt
If you're lucky enough to live near water, over the summer, you might see gluts of dozens or hundreds of swimmers milling their way through the river, lake or sea, with bright caps. Eejits, you might think. You'd be thinking exactly what they're thinking. Making our way down the Bull Wall on a warm day, people wretch from the stench wafting over from Dollymount. Why are we doing this? A woman asks me as we put our timing tags on our ankles. A kilometre into the race, I feel a burning sensation in my right arm, stretching across my chest. Back on the steps, I can see that a jellyfish has left an arc of red blisters across my torso that sizzle for a day. The sun is hot on our backs as we watch the men plough through the sea. I did that, I think. I can't believe I did that. Why are we doing this? A woman asks as we are getting in the water in Seapoint. Is that seaweed or sewerage, she asks a man with a microphone. He doesn't answer. We set off. Afterwards, someone hands me a home-made flapjack. Why are we doing this? A woman asks on the stones in Killiney. The waves are breaking high on a dip near the shore. It is going to be hard to get in and even harder to get out. The water is cold to the bone. The swim seems endless from the start. I find myself beside a woman, our arms, bellies, and legs working in sync for more than a thousand metres, giving both comfort and determination. Two strong, congratulatory men reef our tired bodies over the wave break and on to the beach. READ MORE I'm not doing this, a man says in Portmarnock, on a wintry summer morning. He is a racing champion, so I'm nervous. I'm too old, he tells me, you'll be grand. We are soaked before we get in. I stop a hundred metres out and shout at a kayaker in the churn to show me where the first buoy is. She points at it with her paddle, but I can hardly see the 5ft bright orange blimp over the waves. The beach is buzzing as each swimmer recounts the hardest part. A gentle woman cracks hand warmers and gives them to me to wrap my fingers around. Why are we doing this? We ask as we get changed on the bridge near the Guinness Factory. The female swimmers are in the water, ready to go, when one shouts that her goggles have snapped, and a pair are thrown over the wall by the men waiting their turn. The water tastes industrial, of fuel and metal and dirt, then saltier closer to the Custom House. I marvel at every building, every waving person, and the underbellies of the 11 bridges. My overwhelming feeling is privilege, to be able to see my city from within its central vein. The Dublin Fire Brigade hoses us down, and someone gives me whiskey to swill. The first time I saw a group of swimmers moving together in the sea, I knew I wanted to do what they were doing. I tried a race in Bray . Everyone just ran in. It was messy. I didn't like it. I did an open water sea course, swimming three to a lane, shoulder to shoulder, to get used to the feeling of being up against bodies in a race. The teacher warned us that someone might try to snap our goggles off if they felt we were going to beat them. Luckily, that wasn't going to be an issue for me. Drying off after a swim one day, a woman said I should join her club, Eastern Bay. I said I wasn't good enough to be part of a swimming club, and she told me not to worry, that they were lovely. She was right. It was within the nest of the club that I felt protected, yet challenged. After months of polite greetings in the pool, I met a fellow club member in the hallway when we were paying our subs. I said his name. 'Ah, I thought it might be you,' he said, 'I didn't recognise you with your clothes on.' I still ask, before I go for a long swim, why I am doing it. When the icy water hits my groin, when I have a pain in my face from the cold, when I see the first jellyfish, seal, or eel. But I love the feeling of my shoulders moving in and out of the water. I gasp a deep breath into my lungs, then push it through my nostrils into the water. Sea, sky, sea, sky, sea, sky. When I get out, I feel strong and clean. I feel that if I can do that, I can do anything. Just put one arm after the other.
Irish Examiner
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Keating tops South qualifiers after overcoming rollercoaster college career
His uncle had a No.1 hit with Life Is a Rollercoaster but Seapoint's Dylan Keating was thrilled to get his career back on more level ground on home soil as he topped the qualifiers for the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at a sun0-kissed Lahinch. The 23-year-old Drogheda talent hit the headlines as a 17-year-old teenager when he won Regional Qualifying for the Open at Baltray. His Uncle Ronan of Boyzone fame frequently gets a mention when he plays well but when officials joked that he had to sing a song from the club balcony for winning the silver medal after he asked if he had any responsibilities, he was happy to hit the high notes on the links. On a day when a light westerly wind led to some hot scoring, Keating added a four under 68 to his opening 69 to top the qualifiers by a shot on seven under. Dooks' Conor Hickey shot a sparkling 65, Tralee's Mark Gazi a 67, Ballybofey and Stranoloar's Ryan Griffin a 68 and Royal Dublin's Sean Downes a 72 to finish tied for second as just seven of the 14 players on two-over made the top 64 who qualified for the matchplay. Former champion Sean Desmond from Douglas was the last man in after a brace of 73s. But it was also an important day for Fota Island's David Howard, the East of Ireland champion, who needed to make the matchplay to keep alive his hopes of winning an automatic spot in the Irish team for next month's Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa via his top two berth in the Bridgestone Order of Merit. After opening with a 75, Howard was five over for the championship with six holes to play but covered them in four-under and shot 70 to make the matchplay with a shot to spare on one-over. He was only marginally less happy than Keating, who admitted he considered quitting the game during his stint at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. 'I felt like I was kind of under forming there for a long time, and to come back home playing well this year, not that I expected to shoot a score like that, it was nice,' Keating said. 'I wouldn't be shy to say it's been a tough last few years. I was in Houston last year and played an event, and I said to Mum and dad, I think that's it for me in golf. Just mentally, I was struggling. I wasn't keeping the ball on the planet. 'My iron play was bad, my driver was terrible, and even my putting left me for a while. 'When I'm home and comfortable, I think that's what brings out the best of me, and that's probably why I struggled in America, just being homesick constantly.' The former Boys international harboured dreams of turning professional for a while but he's put those plans on hold and while he admits it's 'a long shot' he's hoping to win some events and get himself on the selectors' radar for next year's Walker Cup at Lahinch. Making next year's Palmer Cup team on his home course Tralee is a goal for Gazi, who is at Northwestern University in Chicago and looking impressive in west Clare. The 19-year-old made eight birdies in his 67 in just his second South of Ireland appearance and hopes to make a run in the matchplay. 'I've done a lot of match play, especially playing Boys Home internationals,' said Gazi, who is travelling with Tralee's Darren O'Sullivan, who shot 67 to qualify in sixth place on five-under. 'Whoever you are playing, you've just goto to beat the man and make sure you do that. It doesn't matter how you do it, once you do.' Most of the leading lights, such as former winners Caolan Rafferty and Colm Campbell, made the cut with ease alongside veterans such as Douglas' Karl Bornemann (level par after two 72s) and Galway's Joe Lyons, who squeezed through in 63rd place after two 73s. Hickey, who was joint second on six-under, was delighted to make it after making life tough for himself after an opening 73. 'It was a pretty big improvement over yesterday, anyway,' the 24-year-old said after a round featuring seven birdies and an eagle three at the fourth. 'I hit a few nice shots coming in and birdied the 16th and 18th hopefully I am not out at the crack of dawn.'
Irish Independent
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Leona Maguire peaking in Scottish Open as Dylan Keating leads South of Ireland qualifiers
The Cavan star showed form when she tied for seventh in the Amundi Evian Championship two weeks ago and with a new caddie, the veteran Phil 'Wobbly' Morbey, on her bag for the next two weeks at least, she's feeling good about her game as the final major of the season approaches. 'Couldn't really ask for a better start,' Maguire said of her link-up with Morbey, who caddied for Ian Woosnam when he won the Masters in 1991 and is set to continue on the bag at Royal Porthcawl. 'Holed out with a nine-iron on 10 [for eagle], on our first hole today in pretty much perfect conditions for most of the front nine,' she added. Maguire lies a shot behind England's Charlotte Lafar, tied for second with Japan's Rio Takeda, Spain's Nuria Iturrioz, Thailand's Arpichaya Yubol and new star Lottie Woad of England, who is making her professional debut. The wind did not get up until late in her round, but she hopes Dundonald will be good preparation for next week. 'I think bit by bit, you hope for good prep ahead of Porthcawl next week,' said Maguire, who practised at Portmarnock last week. 'So the linksier the conditions, the better.' Castlewarden's Lauren Walsh dropped five shots in her last six holes en route to a five-over 77. But it was a better day for Séamus Power in the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota, where a four-under 67 left him seven shots behind Canada's Adam Svensson, whose sensational 60 gave him a two-shot lead over Sam Stevens. In the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale, Pádraig Harrington made seven birdies in a three-under 67 to lie just four shots behind New Zealand's Steven Alker. The Dubliner was tied for fifth as Alker shot 63 to lead by a shot from Australia's Mark Hensby. 'I played lovely at the start and struggled to score well,' said Harrington after following four birdies in five holes from the 13th with a three-putt bogey at the 18th. 'Then on the back nine, I didn't play so well and scored great.' Darren Clarke was 42nd after a 70, as Paul McGinley's 72 left him joint 82nd. In the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Seapoint's Dylan Keating (23) added a four-under 68 to his opening 69 to lead the qualifiers for the matchplay stages at sunny Lahinch. He topped the qualifiers by a shot on seven under from Dooks' Conor Hickey (65), Tralee's Mark Gazi (67), Ballybofey's Ryan Griffin (68) and Royal Dublin's Sean Downes (72) as just seven of the players on two-over made the cut. ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open, 9.30am Senior Open Championship, 1.30pm 3M Open, 7pm
BreakingNews.ie
13-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Dune Watch: Three-bed beachside bungalow in Co Louth for €925,000
Dune Watch is a three-bed beach front property just outside Termonfeckin in Co Louth, sitting on a 0.3-acre site offering unparalleled views of the Irish Sea. It offers direct access to Seapoint Beach, which was awarded a Green Coast Award earlier this year. Advertisement The home extends to 172sq m and offers three double bedrooms, two of which are en suite. Dune Watch also has double-glazed windows and a double-height main reception room which overlooks the beach. It also benefits from a carport, several outbuildings and a large, decked area facing the beach. Bright, spacious rooms in the home have vaulted ceilings and picture windows that are oriented southeast, getting as much light as possible. The location is close to Seapoint Golf Club, and Co Louth Golf Club at Baltray, and around 2km from Termonfeckin village with amenities that include a local convenience store, a church, a primary school and a bar. The home is also within 6km of Drogheda, with access to the M1 motorway making Dublin Airport and the M50 both accessible within 35 minutes. Dune Watch in Seapoint, Termonfeckin, Co Louth is on sale for €925,000 on now. To see more, click here.
