This year’s Jim O’Connor Memorial Castle to Castle Swim will take place on Saturday August 24th 2024.

The 13.5km swim will start at Rindoon Castle on Lough Ree in Co. Roscommon and will finish at Athlone Castle in Co.Westmeath. It will be open to 30 solo swimmers and up to 80 relay swimmers (20 teams).

Swimmer safety is top priority so each solo swimmer will be required to have an experienced kayaker to guide them and each relay team will require a boat with an experienced captain.

The inaugural swim in 2023 was completed by 23 solo swimmers in between 3.25 hours and 5.5 hours. 16 Relay teams comprising of 61 swimmers also finished the 13.5km challenge. The event was supported on the day with the help of Athlone Sub Aqua Club, Inny Kayak Club, Lough Ree RNLI, Lough Ree Yacht Club, Portaneena Marina, Waterways Ireland, Viking Tours, The Order of Malta, local doctors, boat captains and local businesses.

The event is a memorial swim for the late Jim O’Connor organised by Athlone Regional Sports Centre along with Jim’s family and friends. In 2012 Jim became the first person to swim the length of Lough Ree, a distance of 32km from Lanesboro to Athlone. The swim took 13 hours and 34 minute to complete and Jim swam without a wetsuit.

All proceeds raised from the Jim O’Connor Memorial Castle to Castle Swim will be donated directly to Pieta.

Individual Swimmers are required to raise €250 plus a €50 registration fee which is paid at the time of registration.

Relay Teams are required to raise €500 plus a €100 registration fee which is paid at the time of registration.

Pieta provide a professional one-to-one therapeutic service to people who are in suicidal distress, those who engage in self-harm, and those bereaved by suicide. All services are provided free of charge and no referral is needed.

Since 2006 Pieta have seen and helped over 70,000 people and established twenty centres across Ireland. To find out more about Pieta visit their website here.

Visit our website www.castletocastleswim.ie for more information including Swim Maps, Swim Rules, Pool & Open Water Training, Training Tips, Safety, Time Trials & Event Day details.

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