Galway Hospice Foundation received an early Christmas present when it was presented with a cheque for €4,400, funds raised by almost 50 swimmers who took part in the recent 5km Swim Challenge.
The participants swam a staggering total of over 212,000 meters on the day, which is the equivalent of swimming from Eyre Square in Galway to the 3Arena in Dublin, and honoured the hundreds of pledges promised to them ahead of the event.
The 5km Swim Challenge is a charity event held by the Predator Triathlon Club each year and to date more than €20,000 has been raised for Galway Hospice in the four years of the event.
The swim took place on December 3 at the Kingfisher pool in Renmore, where the brave swimmers were put through their paces by event organisers John Cloonan, Declan Mahon and Martina Dempsey, while an army of volunteers manned the lanes and ensure every 25 metre length was ticked off.
The presentation of the cheque was made last weekend, Saturday December 16, at the Kingfisher, when Predator Triathlon Club chairperson, Ian McGrath, and event organisers John Cloonan, Declan Mahon and Martina Dempsey handed over the cheque for €4,408.62 to Galway Hospice.
The 5km Swim Challenge is the brain child of Predator Triathlon Club member Niall Callinan and friends, who first held the event in 2014. Since then the challenge has been carried forward by a dedicated team from the club, who are delighted to see the race grow every year.
