St. Fiacc’s sponsored swim a huge success

St. Fiacc’s Swimming Club members took fundraising matters into their own hands recently by holding a Sponsored Swim. Over 75 members participated in the swim on 16 November last year. Their aim was to swim the equivalent distance from Graiguecullen Pool to the National Aquatic Centre, Blanchardstown, and back. This was a whopping 166km. They blew that target out of the water. In total, the squads swam 282km, an amazing distance. All members raised sponsorship for their efforts and in total over €5.800 was raised. Celebrations of this superb achievement were held at training earlier this month.

According club Committe member Jenny Whelan the fundraiser was “a huge success.” 

“I would like to thank our fundraising committee who were hugely influential in making the event a success and for working so well with our club committee. All the swimmers in our club got sponsorship, so without them it would not have been possible. We are a non-profit organisation so the money raised will go into equipment and pool rental. The cost of living and everything now has increased, so the money is really appreciated. For any club the amount of money we raised is absolutely huge. We are so thankful to all those who supported.” 

Whelan went onto say that the fundraiser “brought everyone in the club together. Usually, the squads train at different times but this brought everyone together. There was a great community spirit on the day. The kids had great fun but of course were tired at the end of their swim, which was very understandable on the day.” 

For the fundraiser, the club used two pools, one in Graigecullen and one in K Leisure club in Athy. The pool in Graigecullen has five lanes and is 25m in length.

St Fiacc’s Swimming Club is based primarily in Carlow with over 150 members. The club is one of the most progressive swimming clubs in the province and provides swimming for those of all ages.

"The club has four squads, Skills, Development, Intermediate and Competitive ranging in ages from 8-18 years,"according to Whelan. 

"We have 98 competitive swimmers. We have over 60 master's swimmers and we have 126 kids that do our swimming lessons. We have a thriving Masters Swimming Squad, and we run a Swim Ireland Lessons Programme once a week on Sunday mornings. We strive to offer something for everyone, and participation is the foundation of our club. We encourage those who wish to swim for fitness, fun and to improve their technique as well as those aiming to compete in regional and national competitions.” 

Whelan said the club will look to build on this success in 2025 and she stated that the club will look to do another fundraiser in the coming months.

If you would like to support the club with sponsorship or find out more about the club, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages or contact the Club secretary at stfiaccssc@gmail.com or the fundraising committee at stfiaccsfundraising@gmail.com.