24/08/2026
Maria Byrne from infinity Channel Swimming travelled from Co. Down to take part in her first Castle to Castle Swim. Accompanied by Mat McQuaid of the Monaghan Paddlers, Maria was the first female in skins to cross the 13.5km finish line.
Maria has kindly allowed us to share her report and experience of the swim. Have a read below .....
*Castle to Castle 13.5km Swim 22/08/26*
I signed up for this swim after receiving a blue envelope for Step Out of the Ordinary challenge. This was number 1 challenge- the Jim OāConnor Memorial Castle to Castle Swim.
Training was going well and all set, until 3 weeks out & left shoulder ni**le recurred. Had to reduce my swims & gym work earlier than planned, 2 physio sessions (thanks Orla) ibuprofen & willpower got me through.
Registration at Athlone boat club & met with kayaker Mat. Kayakers & swimmers sat together on the bus ride to starting point Rindoon Castle. This was a great opportunity to discuss the plan. Feeding plan print out handed over to Mat. Had 3 carb drink bottles already made up, just let him know to give a good shake & hand out with each feed. āSolidā feeds numbered by sticker the night before (Shauna helped me with this!) Few extra gels thrown in & a bag of jelly babies in case needed/fancied these on swim.
Coffee available at start which was great. We were warned it was a shallow start & be careful.
Kayakers had their briefing, swimmers had our briefing. Kayakers made their way on to the water with a number matching their swimmer clearly on their kayak.
36 swimmers entered the water, rolling start, starting at number 36, going off every 20sec until number 1. I was number 15, so it took 7 minutes for me to get started while waiting in line. Race organisers were on hand to take dry robes as we entered the water to help avoid getting cold. Still feet in water for 7 mins gradually moving forward & trying to avoid rocks. Number 17, number 16, then my turn number 15. I bent down & started swimming & immediately scraped my right leg & right arm on a rock! Mat was right there beside me on my left & off we went.
Started at a good pace, water temp a lovely 18deg. Felt like a lot of people in front of me, so we went a bit wide & passed a brave few of them. Aiming for 10mins for 500m, 3km/hr pace. 1st 500m, 9.19, then 9.07, 9.21, 9.10, 9.28 feeling good & slightly faster than planned. First feed at 1hr feeling good. Mat had all out before we stopped, handed over half banana & drink. Found it harder to feed in freshwater, harder to tread water as expected.
Onwards, going well. Mat gave clear instructions when he wanted me to move right or come in closer, he knew what he was doing, so I felt safe to follow his lead. So feeds every 40mins after first hour, had figured out if going to plan this would be 5km, 7km, 9km & 11km. And this pretty much worked out well. Course was marked with yellow buoys marked A to T. This was great psychologically as I counted them down in my head.
Got to 6km & felt ok. Then the water got rocky, my head felt a bit dizzy, nausea. I thought to myself no, I canāt do this, why am I here, I need to get out, Iām not even halfway & I feel awful, Iāll never finish! Meanwhile my arms kept turning, I kept checking if Mat was still there, did he see my struggle. But he was giving positive signals, onwards. Also there seemed to be no-one else around. Where had all the other swimmers & kayakers gone?
I had to do something about these negative thoughts, randomly Do a deer popped into my head. So I started singing it in my head & at one point hummed it. Had to tell myself I can do this. Water settled, watch buzzed, another yellow buoy & another one, Iām making progress. Got the 5 min hand signal for feed from Mat & thought ok I can do 5mins & then feed & see how I feel. Told Mat that was rough & he said weāre well over halfway now, water settling, onwards! And off we went.
Still making progress, 7.5km, 8km, 8.5km still moving forward, feed. Watch stuck at 8802m. I knew I was further than that, so had to ignore the watch now as knew it wasnāt accurate, focus on yellow buoys. Felt like a tough slog getting out of Lough Ree & into the Shannon, but I was making progress. Another yellow buoy. Lots of reeds in the Shannon, which I didnāt mind swimming over, water so clear & still. Followed Matās instruction as we moved from one side to the other being careful with shallower sections of water.
The last buoy was T, passed it, but I knew there was still around 3km to go. Then I could see the first bridge- the motorway bridge. I knew I was close to Athlone at this point, but it felt like it took forever to get to the bridge. My watch had caught up a bit by this point, but I didnāt want to rely on it. Mat was smiling & gave positive fists in the air signals & I knew I was making good progress. It felt great swimming under that bridge, 3 more bridges to go.
Next the Railway bridge, then passed Athlone boat club where we registered that morning. Nearly there! Then the Railway bridge.
At this point 3 or 4 wetsuit swimmers came flying past me, realised it was a relay team, no need to race them. Let them go. Just keep moving forward.
Then under the Pedestrian bridge which I had walked with Cormac & the girls the previous evening as I was getting orientated for the swim.
Last bridge- the main town bridge, I could hear the music, the shouts of the crowd & we had made it!! Quick turn in right to the slipway to finish! I sat on the slipway for a few seconds, not quite able to stand. Stopped my watch, 4:34:28. Eventually managed to get up, high 5 to Mat. Charlie, race organiser told me I was first female skins home, to be confirmed when official timing is sorted. Delighted to hear this, up the slip way & there they were - Cormac, Orla, Caitlin & Shauna. I was so delighted to see them, they all come over, big hugs, photo at the finish line, had to fight back the tears, I felt so emotional. Big swims tend to do that! Shouted for Mat to come & join the family pic at which point he said, hello Mariaās family, your mummy is an animal! Lol!
Job done.
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