Place of Birth: Dublin
Current City: Dublin

Swimming Biography

At the age of 12, Patrick started swimming with Crusades Swimming Club, taking part in open sea races around the east coast. In August 1991, he swam across Dublin Bay and was a member of the Dublin City Relay Team. This relay team swam the English Channel in 1995, the North Channel in 1996, and from the Aran Islands to Galway in 1998. Patrick has also swum solo from Bray to Poolbeg (12 miles) in 1995. In February 2002, he swam from Rottnest to Perth, Australia (20k).

Swimmer's Report – English Channel
Direction: England to France

On Monday July 19th 1999, I swam the English Channel.

Shay Dillon and I swim into Shakespeare Beach at 4.50am, shake hands and await the start signal.
4.52am: The swim begins, conditions perfect, with a flat, calm sea. Water temperature was 62 degrees F (15 degrees C).
8.45am: Wind has risen to Force 3, sea choppier, feeding at hourly intervals.
9.50am: Large bunches of of seaweed 4-6 feet wide everywhere, I just had to swim through it.
10.39am: Conditions more choppy, waves breaking over my head.
4.02pm: I am now 3.5 miles directly off Cape Gris Nez, but the tidal conditions are such that it will be 3 to 4 hours before the swim will finish. The tide is sweeping me off towards Calais.
7.22pm: I clear the water on a beach near Calais Harbour. My overall time is 14 hours and 30 minutes.