With thanks to Michael Holland, University Curator in UCC and the fantastic Irish Examiner Archives, here are some more pictures and cuttings about the swimming club at Weaver’s Point / Graball from the 1930s to the 1950s.  Our predecessors!

First a report on the club gala in 1935.  I’d love to know what the distance was for the long-distance race mentioned.  Also, was the man on the left the winner of the wetsuit category?

Examiner 1841-1959, Monday, August 26, 1935

Picture from the 1937 gala below – it’s a bit blurry, but look at the crowds!

Examiner 1841-1959, Tuesday, August 24, 1937

No picture from the 1947 “At Home”, but a report below.  I’d love to know what the “amusing novelty event” referred to was.

Irish Examiner 1841-1959, Tuesday, September 02, 1947

In an advertisement from 1939, it’s interesting to see that a well-developed social scene was in place in the club.  Maybe we should resurrect this one!  Bernard could drive the late bus for us.

Examiner 1841-1959, Friday, July 28, 1939

Finally – to my amazement – there was a clipping that shows that the introduction of Myrtleville Swimmers as Property Porn and using OWS as a way to shift property was by no means without historical precedent in the area. Miss Healy, below, clearly knew that the glamorous lifestyle of the open water swimmer would draw in the punters.

Irish Examiner 1841-1959, Friday, March 27, 1959;

Thanks again to Michael Holland.  We have located some other larger pictures and are looking to get them scanned.  I’ll post them when we have them.

Ould fellas will get beaten by young fellas eventually.  That’s what came into my head the other day looking at some photos.  A few examples – two from the same families, one not.

Some of you may remember a great local swimmer (really local – actually lives in Myrtleville), Sham Riordan.  It’s so long since he’s been seen in the water, it’s only the old-timers will be able to put a face to the name (Note: effort to shame him into coming back).  He turned up recently for look at where he used to swim (it’s at the bottom of the hill where he lives) and brought one of the reasons for his absence with him.

Former swimmer, Sham Riordan, pays a visit to the beach for Breda’s birthday swim. Just to watch, though.   It was tiring – especially for James Riordan.

The picture made me think that in about ten years or so, James will be ripping past the likes of me out to the Dutchman, cruising at 1.30 / 100m and not even drawing breath. Of course, I’m a slow ould fella as it is.  Sham might still be ahead of him for a year or two – he’s fast, is Sham – but time is very much on James’ side.

That’s what happens, though.  Keep feeding them and they’ll leave you behind in the water. Or the bike & road, as J. Slowey Jnr. is showing Snr. the way these days.

James Slowey Jnr – Winner.      James Slowey Snr – The one with the beard.

The picture that made me start thinking about young fellas passing out ould fellas, though, was the one below.  And not necessarily their ould fellas either – ould fellas in general. Even really fast ould fellas.

Taken at the Lee Swim in 2008, this picture features a former captain of the Barr’s U14 Féile hurling team and a treble winner of the Myrtleville – Church Bay swim.

Ned Denison is in the picture too.  Ned has yet to win the premier event in the Irish OWS calendar – the Church Bay swim, of course – and he can’t hurl (no touch).

Myrtleville-Church Bay champion 2010, 2011 and 2012, former Féile captain and reigning Lee Swim champion, Chris Mintern, on the other hand…..

As previously posted, an evening seminar on nutrition was discussed for the swimmers in Myrtleville.  Certainly, nutrition does seem to be high on the Myrtlevillian agenda.  Rather than a big long seminar, I thought we might just focus on one thing – the golden nutrition period of 45 minutes post-swim, AKA the muscle recovery window.

As the saying goes – here’s the science bit: this is the time when muscles are restored, repaired and regenerated.  All of the processes that help repair damaged muscle tissue, build new muscle and replenish muscle energy are activated immediately after exercise.  It is almost as if a switch was turned on.  However, this switch has a timer.  After 45 minutes it automatically turns off.  We call this 45 minute interval the “muscle recovery window.”  To take full advantage, all you have to is consume the right combination of nutrients within 45 minutes after a workout.

That all sounds fair enough, doesn’t it?  I don’t think there’s a problem with getting our elite swimmers to consume nutrients in the 45 minute window, so let’s just focus on six words there – “consume the right combination of nutrients”.

Where in those six words does it say “cake”, “sticky buns”, “custard slices”, “sausages” etc etc etc?  Hmmmmm?

Back to the drawing board for the nutrition plan – or the frying pan and oven, maybe.

I personally didn’t get into swimming because I wanted to do loads of laps or distances in the sea.  It’s ended up that way a bit, but I do try to remember the reason I started sea swimming was I was really, really fat: feckin’ huge I absolutely loved splashing in waves at a beach whenever I got the chance. Hours, I’d be in there.  Saturday morning was a reminder of that.  Not much swimming, but a great start to the day.

Lots of people went in and watched out for each other.   Of course, it didn’t look too enticing at first.

Anne hides her real feelings about the state of the sea (or not) while Breda goes into another of her karmic trances (It IS sunny and calm. It IS sunny and calm).

James Slowey was first in and dispensing advice on his way out.  “I wouldn’t go in there if I was you”, was the advice.  The beard was weighing him down.

You did need to have a bit of focus to get in – gaps in the waves were in short supply.

It was like a bath when you got in, though.  Like a bath.

Warm, fluffy waves to snuggle into in Myrtleville. Toasty, like.

Swim tonight at 6.00.  Forecast is still a little Easterly but much lighter than the weekend, so hopefully some swimming will be possible.  We can’t go playing all the time!