The Irish Deaf Channel Swimmers celebrates in Deaf Village Ireland
Monday, September 8, 2014
The Irish Deaf Swimmers celebrations got underway at Deaf Village Ireland on the 6th September 2014. Seven Deaf swimmers successfully swam the channel on the 7th July from Dover to Calais. The Dublin Deaf Association (DDA), Irish Deaf Women’s Group (IDWG) and Deaf Village Ireland (DVI) worked hard in organising this successful event which was enjoyed by over 500 people. The atmosphere at the celebrations was great. The excitement felt while waiting for the announcement of the big cheque, which no one knew the amount but the swimmers. The monies were raised from all the events that the swimmers had organised.
The seven swimmers had been training and working very hard for the last 18 months. The swimmers were Bernadette White, Bridie Power, Nora Duggan, Lisa Carroll, Michelle Mc Loughlin, Deirdre Byrne and Patricia Heffernan. The seven ladies were very dedicated and worked very hard in their training. This was not an easy task swimming in the rough seas and in all weathers. There was a serious commitment to keeping each other motivated in tough times. Ronan Lowry and Jason Maguire were also praised for their work in social media the swimmers live on the 7th of July. This was a very exciting and emotional time for the Deaf Community. Ray Watson was also praised for his work in documentary filming that was filmed in Dover last July and it will be shown to the public at the Lighthouse Cinema in October and it’s organised by the Shamrock Deaf Films. Go to their website to find out how to purchase the film tickets and programme. This is not to be missed.
During the last 18 months the ladies have been raising money and the Irish Deaf Channel Swimmers team were organising a lot of these events to raise money for the IDWG. All these various events that were held were very important, not only raising funds but bringing the community together and keeping the communities spirit alive. A lot of these events took place in Deaf Village Ireland and outside of Deaf Village Ireland. The ladies even encouraged members of the community to have fun swim days. Over 100 Deaf people turned up in Portmarnock beach and other places nominating various different people to swim.
On the night of the celebrations Lisa along with the team of the Irish Deaf Channel Swimmers announced that the swimmers had raised a staggering €29,214.44 for the IDWG. A lot of people were very emotional to hear of this huge success. These monies will be shared with other women’s group around Ireland. We are all very proud of our Professional Deaf swimmers!