Cycle and Swim from Mizen to Malin with friends

Hi friends,

We are a group of 12 friends cycling from Mizen to Malin. But this will be a trip with a difference as we will also be swimming each day also.

We are cycling from Mizen to Malin and swimming each night in Bantry, Ballyheigue, Kinvara,Strandhill, Buncrana.

We are Dinny Brennan, Karen Ryan, Peadar Brenna, Marie Slattery, Ken Byrne, Philip Molloy,Mike Cahill, Paddy Langton, Heather Purcell, Deirdre Foley, Victor Young and Brian Keane.

We are all triathletes and members of Kilkenny Triathlon Club, many of us are members of cycling clubs like Kells Angels Cycling Club.

We all swim and most of us swim all year around. One of our favourite swim areas is The Weir in Thomastown. This is the main reason we want to support this venture.

Our route-

• Thursday 28th April:

- Stage 1: Mizen to Ballyheigue -167k/1,945mt

• Friday 29th April

- Stage 2: Ballyheigue to Kinvara -162k/1,294mt

• Saturday 30th April

- Stage 3: Kinvara to Strandhill -185k/1,059mt

• Sunday 1st May

- Stage 4: Strandhill to Rathmullan/Buncrana-136km/1,434mt

• Monday 2nd May:

- Stage 5: Buncrana to Malin Head-40k/210mt

Total- 690k

Our charity partner-

Thomastown Community River Trust Ltd (TCRT) is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status (Company Number: 483783, Charity number: CHY 19096).

Thomastown Community River Trust was formed in 2008 as a reaction to the

collapse of a section of Thomastown Weir and subsequent loss of a much loved local

swimming area after serious flooding. A group of committed volunteers came together

to reverse the decay of the weir and create and maintain a safe space on the river for

the benefit of the local community, as well as protecting the surrounding natural

environment, and built heritage.

They have since designed and created a successful leisure facility which boasts

a 50 metre natural outdoor olympic sized pool with three depth variations, which is

utilised regularly by the local community, clubs, groups, and visitors.

TCRT strives to keep environmental conservation, community inclusion, and

education through cooperative action at the core of this project. TCRT has hosted

classes and workshops on environmental and biodiversity conservation, swimming

classes in collaboration with Water Safety Ireland, yoga classes in collaboration with

Kilkenny Recreational Sports Partnership, a report and exhibition on local industrial

heritage led by acclaimed archaeologists, tree planting events with local young people,

as well as hosting a variety of community events.

The Weir Pool continues to be managed and maintained on a voluntary basis by

TCRT. This includes insurance, managing built infrastructure, maintaining the site by

managing invasive species, litter picking, creating grass paths, planting native trees,

and hosting events to benefit the relationship between the local community and the

river. The annual cost for TCRT is €6,000 which has to be raised through fundraising.

Sponsorship

We are looking to raise funds for Raising funds to support Thomastown Community Trust via our I-donate page