AN 11km swim that started at Bantry’s Abbey slipway and ended in front of the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff was an homage by a daughter to her dearly departed mother.
Róisín Coveney (25) did the swim to honour the memory of her life-affirming mother, Kate (60), and to raise money for the Oesophageal Cancer Fund, after the disease claimed Kate’s life just six short weeks after she was given her diagnosis.
Róisín, who is from Bandon, swam across Bantry Bay with the back-up support of her boyfriend, Ger O’Sullivan, who is from the area.
But he wasn’t the only one providing assistance. Róisín’s friends, and the friends of her mother, including her partner John O’Donovan, turned up in large numbers by way of tribute.
Their presence was, according to Róisín, ‘the real highlight of the day.’
In fact, before she even put a foot in the water, Róisín had raised €10,000, but the figure continues to increase and has already surpassed €14,000 on the iDonate platform.
The challenge had been planned for a while and it was the intention of Kate – who was a wild swimming enthusiast and inspired her own daughters in this regard – to be part of the support team.
‘But mom got her diagnosis in June,’ said Róisín, ‘and she passed away on August 12th.’
The swim was postponed, but Róisín felt compelled to complete the task and the relatively mild weather in October proved to be a bonus.
During the four-and-a-half hours it took her to complete the swim, Róisínn said she was thinking about her mum.
‘But there were times, too, when I wasn’t thinking of anything, except maybe the cold.’
‘For me, it was a really special way to honour my mom, who was originally from Bishopstown, but had lived in Bandon for 24 years.
‘Mom was very kind and caring to me and my sister Seána,’ said Róisín. ‘She encouraged us to do whatever we wanted to do, but her goodness was noted in the wider community, too.
‘When she died, so many people reached out. She was a low-key person, who never made a fuss, but she was really caring and did things well.’
Róisín believes the amount of money that has been raised is a huge testament to her mother and the impact she had on so many people.
‘I also think the money raised could make a real difference in the battle against oesophagus cancer,’ she added.
