Ger Kennedy and Allen Evans.

SWIMMERS GER KENNEDY and Allen Evans will today attempt a swimming feat never attempted before in Ireland – a 24 hour swim in the Irish sea to help raise funds for Epilepsy Ireland.

They are due to start shortly, at 1pm, at the 40-foot bathing area in Dublin’s Sandycove. They’ll attempt to complete a one-hour market course 24 times, in waters of just 12-13 degrees.

The two men will finish at lunchtime tomorrow, if all goes well.

They are swimming to raise funds for Epilepsy Ireland in memory of Suzanne Ryan, a family friend who died in 2010.

Kennedy and Evans are both experienced long-distance and endurance swimmers, specialising in the gruelling discipline of ice swimming. They have both represented Ireland in the World Ice Swimming Championships and earlier this year, Kennedy achieved world-class status by completing a distance of 2.1km in a temperature of just 3.3 Celsius in 51 minutes. He is one of just ten people in the world to have achieved the feat.

Commenting ahead of the swim, he said it will present different challenges for them and they have undertaken a “brutal training regime” over the last six months to prepare.

There’s also a huge logistical operation involved – we’re setting up a marquee where people can drop by for a coffee, there’s heaters and massage tables, night lights, all kinds of safety gear and first aid equipment and of course a support crew of four to keep us safe and motivated… Tony Quinn motivational CDs and rock music are the order of the day!

The men are hoping to use today as a springboard for an even bigger challenge next year – to become the first people ever to swim from Holyhead to Dublin across the Irish sea.

All funds raised will go to Epilepsy Ireland, the national organisation supporting people with epilepsy and their families.

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