*Photograph: John Mangan
OVER 130 swimmers braved the elements on Monday morning for the Swim in Pink event at Cappa, Kilrush.
A nationwide initiative, Swim in Pink is used to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research, with over €30,000 raised last year across the country. This was the first event to be held in Cappa.
Among the group was a woman who travelled all the way from Meath after reading of the event which she was determined to complete in memory of her mother.
Organisers had initially hoped to have a crowd of 50 to 60 but were very pleased with such large numbers.
Pauline Dunleavy was one of the key persons behind the event taking place in Cappa. “We started with a remembrance for those who have left us with cancer but we also made it a morning for the survivor, I couldn’t believe the amount of survivors in the gathering. The weather wasn’t pleasant but people weren’t in a hurry”.
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She is part of a group of twenty to thirty who swim every day in Cappa. “We have two female survivors in our group and both cases were caught by a mammogram. I saw different people on Monday and I was reminded that they had cancer and some were in remission”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Pauline admitted that she was “fascinated” by the length at which people stayed in the water for. After leaving the water, people gathered for tea, a pink cake and a pink bun.
“People know that the funds are spent wisely and the outcome is success. The research on cancer has come on leaps and bounds,” she said. “It’s very important for men and women to check themselves, it’s a free service for over fifties and a quick procedure for breast check, anyone who gets the call for a mammogram don’t leave it blank”.
