'Swim in Pink' returns to Longford as the Ladies of the Lake host their second annual fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research

Ladies of the Lake, a wild swimming group that spans North Longford, South Cavan and Southeast Leitrim are organising their second annual 'Swim in Pink' event.

Swim in Pink is a national annual fundraising event that is a collaboration between the National Breast Cancer Research Institute and Blackrock Swimwear that takes place all across Ireland. 

This year the Ladies of the Lakes Swim in Pink will be taking place in Lake Gulladoo, Carrigallen, Moyne Area, on Sunday, 13 October at 11am. Anyone interested can register for this event on the Swim in Pink website for €25.

This will be the second year the Ladies of the Lake will be hosting a Swim in Pink event and the third Swim in Pink Fundraiser overall.

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Kay Mcloughlin, a member of the group, spoke to the Longford leader about the fundraiser.

“We held it last year, we came in 8th place in the country for fundraising which is good for a little rural area,” said Kay.

“Last year was really good, we were really happy with the turn out. I think it was something like 25 swimmers  and we had loads more people coming and supporting and donating.” 

“The community was very supportive, very encouraging, we all know someone who's had breast cancer or is going through it currently.”

The swimming group held another fundraiser for Breast Cancer at the start of the year. 

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“One of the members of our group did 28 swims earlier this year,” said Kay, “She had to go in every day for 28 days,”

“The wild swimmers are a collection of people, some of whom have had health issues in their past,” explained Kay. “Breast Cancer affects one in 7 women in Ireland in their lifetime, it’s important that we support what the researchers are doing in relation to a cure.”

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The Ladies of the Lake began in 2022 after an event in Garty lake led to a group of women setting it up.

While the Ladies no longer swim in Garty, they can be found in the waters of Lough Gowna, Cloon and Keeldra when it rains due to the facilities there.

“We swim all year round, there’s a swim on Christmas Day,” says Kay.

The Ladies are hoping for changing facilities to be added to the Lakes in the Midlands.

“We swim in the rain, but the problem is you need to get changed into dry clothes and stay dry and that's why we want shelter,” She explained. “It’s not just the swimming, afterwards  we sit down and have a hot drink and get warm, so you know there's that as well, people love that as much as the swim.” 

"It's a very positive think to do, I know people think were crazy, we were in breaking ice last January, it was fun we didn't do it for long but it was good."