Nancy nets €600 after 17km swim for charity

By Áilín Quinlan

A TEENAGER who swam a gruelling 17km to raise money for charity has just presented  €600 to a highly respected West Cork search and rescue team.

Nancy Edmead, now aged 18, recently presented €600 to the West Cork Underwater Search and Rescue organisation – the proceeds from her challenging four-hour swim along the rugged coastline from Enniskillen in Co Down as part of the long distance national swimming championships.

The teenager, who lives with her family outside Clonakilty, and has been swimming all her life, won the national long distance title during the Swim Ireland competition.

A Leaving Certificate student at Sacred Heart Convent Secondary School, Nancy recently presented the cheque to the Underwater Search and  Rescue team. ‘The team is very committed and do a lot of training and Nancy wanted to do something for them in her capacity as a swimmer,’ said Nancy’s mother Bernadette. 

‘She was very tired when she came out of the water – the swim took four hours. It was a huge achievement and also highlights the work of the service and the training they do.

‘Nancy has been swimming all her life – we are all swimmers in our family, and safety in the water has always been very important to us.’