Up the Rebels and Viva Myrtleville! 🙂

Announced tonight at the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association Awards Dinner.  Thanks to everyone who voted for us to win the ILDSA MARGARET SMITH AWARD – for a group who increased the profile of open water swimming.

NOTE: All future references to us – online or otherwise – must now be to:

 “The Award Winning Myrtleville Swimmers ™ ® ©.”

Licence fees for use of our name, images and overall aura and mystique will be collected by Condon Credit Control Ltd. (slogan: “Pay up or we’ll shower you in s**te.”).

Keep swimming and increasing the profile 🙂

Great plans are being made for a swim from Graball to Crosshaven during the Summer.   Lots of us have been to Church Bay – if you continued on you would round Weaver’s Point and be at Graball.  From there you swim past Camden and around the corner into Crosshaven.  A nice swim with the tide coming in, to push you along.

Graball to Crosshaven – aerial view.

Swimming in Graball has some considerable history.  The picture below is from 1934.

Ocean swimming in Graball Bay in 1934. The winner of this race, held under the auspices of the Munster Branch of the IASA, was Richard Jones, captain of the Dolphin Swimming Club.

There was a swimming club and changing rooms there in the 1920s and 30s.

Image of decline. The remnants of the former Crosshaven Swimming Club at Graball. It went into disrepair following the closure of the Cork – Crosshaven railway line. Pic. F. Schoonbaert

Of course William Lawrence included it in his collection around 1905.

Nice to see Myrtleville Swimmers making plans to bring some swimming back there again.  Roll on the Summer!

I know for real historians and locals I am glossing over the history of swimming in Graball / Crosshaven.  If there are other pictures or information that anyone has, I’d be delighted to get them and share them.

Siobhan Russell goes to huge efforts to take pictures at almost every swim during the year.  With help from Joleen Cronin, they then put together a collage of photographs from the swimming year.  Here’s the 2014 edition.  Some pictures from Gearoid, Gordon and others, but the bulk from Siobhan.

After lots of fails to get this online in one piece, thankfully someone techie (or at least devoted and willing to give the time!) managed to work it out.  Well done, Dave Russell.

Settle down with a coffee…

Thanks from everyone, Siobhan.   Swimming in Myrtleville just wouldn’t be the same without you.

The Myrtleville Warm-Up Dance Troupe has a long and storied history.  Unusually for a Warm-Up act, they actually perform after the main event.  Led by the twinkle-toed maestro himself, Bernie L, the troupe can be seen performing around Myrtleville beach after every swim during the Winter.

Possibly the most famous incarnation of the troupe was the glory days of Bernie and Fast Eddie.

Myrtleville Warm-Up Dance Troupe when they were on top of the world – go, Eddie, go, go, go….

Unfortunately, a non-dance-related injury has sidelined Eddie, so a new member was needed.  Jumpin’ J Slowey has a strong background in solo dance himself, so he was selected to see how he could perform in the team environment.

Not unknown for his moves, Jumpin’ J seemed to be the right fit for the Troupe.

It’s tough to step into big shoes, so the first sessions with the new boy didn’t really hit the heights expected of the Troupe.  The flow just wasn’t there.

Jumpin’ J gives it his best shot at the first outing. You can see Bernie’s not convinced.

However, practice is what it’s all about, so a week later there were definite improvements.

Bernie’s smiling and Jumpin’ J is clearly getting into the role, but it’s too much for just two men.

After some consultation, it was decided to expand the troupe membership.  They will conduct open auditions next Saturday, to see who might be able to make the step up to the big leagues and join Bernie and J.

Despite anti-Mná lobbying by Denis, female swimmers are not just welcome but positively encouraged to audition.  Some of them have great moves to add to the troupe repertoire.

Let’s get them on stage with the Troupe!

There may also be some dark-horses – it’s all about the variety these days.  Tom and Sailor have some nifty moves.

So, get working on your steps and join Bernie and Jumpin’ J on Saturday morning to audition.  It could be you 🙂

Once again, for the week that’s in it, don’t forget (voting closes this Friday, 23rd)…

Vote here: Section 10 is us, by the way https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014)

I’m sure that, like me, whenever a non-swimmer realises that you’re swimming in the sea in Winter, you get the “Jayzus, you must be mad” or “You need your head examined”, friendly comments.

I always ignore these, because I know it’s not true that you have to be mad to enjoy OW Winter swimming.  Or at least, I thought it wasn’t true, until I saw the crowd who’ve started getting their pictures taken on the frozen beach in “Calendar Poses”.

I don’t know where they get their calendars, but I’m not shopping there.  Funnily enough, it’s all James, James, James in this game…

He started it – no wonder we had to post Jamie O’Donnell overseas (to Limerick).

James Slowey goes for it in his January Man Calendar pose.

The old dog for the hard road, Jim Shalloo shows the younger James how it’s done.

Still, let’s not blame the boys, or the Jameses.  There’s Mnás at this lark too.

Anything they can do, I can do – waaaaay better. Ms. Collins reclines.

Of course, for the week that’s in it, don’t forget (voting closes this Friday, 23rd)…

Vote here: Section 10 is us, by the way https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014)

Here’s one ye never thought ye’d see on this site – courtesy of LoneSwimmer.

I know in the past I may have made the odd comment that might have been open to misinterpretation but really, we’re all friends in Myrtleville and Sandycove – right lads?

I mean – seriously – Moz never thought I really wanted him tarred and feathered for what he did to The Hat, did he?  And Mr. Finbarr, sure he didn’t mind being compared to Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons – sure he didn’t?

The Bull – me ould buddy, Robbie – he wasn’t put out about being taunted repeatedly for having to swim in Myrtleville whenever the tide went out around the Island?  Angela?  Angela couldn’t have minded me ripping off her Minutes or encouraging counterfeit shower production worldwide….

No, no, I’m convinced that it was all taken in good humour and therefore couldn’t possibly prevent wholesale voting by all Sandycove Swimmers for us in the ILDSA Awards (Vote here: Section 10 is us, by the way https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014).

However, in light of the fact that maybe there was the occasional misunderstanding and since we are 100% not above buying votes here in Myrtleville, loyal Myrtlevillains have been glad to offer the following, if sufficient votes* are received from Sandycove:

1. B. Lynch will spend the entire day in his retail establishment in his Speedos, wearing a Sandycove swim hat.

2. D. Cregan-Condon will provide Sandycove-branded Showers for the first fifty swimmers who lap the Island five times in the dark in February. (Denis doesn’t like to give showers away easily).

3. P. Lowry will wear a pink wetsuit and walk behind Ms. Harris for one hour at the Sandycove Challenge next year, while sprinkling fairy dust and chanting “make way for the Pink Fairy”.

4. S. Russell will photograph N. Denison and G. Molnar’s next nude swim around Sandycove and have the images produced as mousemats for all SISC members.

Now, how could you not vote for us, your bestest, bestest friends forever?

Vote here: Section 10 is us, by the way https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014

*(Legal Note: Determination of the meaning of “sufficient votes” is solely at the discretion of the Vote-Buying sub-committee of the Myrtleville Swimmers Is Not A Club, Club Committee.  All individuals mentioned in this article are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental, although we do all know most of them.)

I’ve seen people on FaceBook proudly announcing “Done” in reply to various calls for voting for the world’s most active swimming group – US 🙂 – in the ILDSA awards.

Vote here: Section 10 is us: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014

One “Done” is no use at all.  We need done, done, done, done and more done. We need votes from every device in the house and office. Phone, PC, TV, Laptop, xBox etc etc.  Use Internet Explorer, Chrome, FireFox.  Grab a phone off passing strangers and vote on theirs.  Force co-workers to vote.

Vote here: Section 10 is us: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014

Where is the spirit that got “A Nation once again” by the Wolfe Tones voted the greatest song of all time on a BBC online poll?  Come on all those who crashed Time’s Person of the Century by voting for Ronnie O’Brien! Where are all the Rage Against The Machine fans who stopped the X Factor number one??

Vote here: Section 10 is us: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014

This is definitely the most important vote of the year – if not ever.  Perspective and reason have nothing to do with it: just vote – you know it’s right!

Vote here: Section 10 is us: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ildsaawards2014

Of course it’s completely up to each person how they vote.  But remember,