Roscommon man ’on a high’ after record-breaking Shannon swim

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Roscommon native Paul Little is 'on a high' following the completion of his 230km swim of the River Shannon on Sunday afternoon.

The Croghan man set out on his challenging eight-day swim from Dowra in Cavan on Sunday, August 10, arriving at Curragower Boat Club in Limerick City on Sunday, August 17, at 2.33pm.

"The mission is complete," Paul said, exiting the water from the floating jetty behind the Hunt Museum in Limerick during lunchtime tide, right on target with his initial goals.

"He smashed the previous record of 14 days for the equivalent course, set by Cloghan man Patrick McDonnell in 2018," said Hazel Cooney Little, Paul's wife.

Paul reached the halfway point on his swim in Athlone on Wednesday, August 13, having completed a milestone of 112km on what was the fourth stop on his eight day journey.

"He's so resilent. Ten kilometers is a marathon swim, Paul is essentially doing a triple marathon every day. The Shannon has been swam before, but nobody has swam it at such a pace.

"It's definitely taking a toll on his body, but he has such a strong mind, and he's been in great humour and he's always cracking jokes."

When asked what inspired the challenge, Hazel said it's "just in his nature".

"He's been in the rowing club, the triathlon club, the swim club all around parts of the Shannon and Lough Key, and he has a really close relationship with the water. He’s grown up near Croghan, he was always out on a kayak or fishing.

"We actually met in the rowing club in Carrick-On-Shannon, and we live in a boat for the last five years. For our honeymoon, we actually climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He's a man for a challenge, and when he set out to do this, he knew it had to be for charity, and he chose North West Stop."

North West Stop is a voluntary community-based organisation that works to prevent suicide by informing, educating and promoting positive mental health.

"There's not one family in Ireland that hasn't been touched by suicide. The work of North West Stop is invaluable," Hazel said.

"It's for families that have lost a loved one, and they provide counselling for those grieving. If one person can be helped, that means everything."

The Croghan man's fundraising page has already amassed over €17,300 from some 444 donations as of Monday, August 18, far surpassing his original goal of €2,500.

"We haven't been able to keep up with the fundraiser, it's been absolutely phenomenal," said Hazel. "We've also had the boat donated by Silverline Cruisers in Banagher, local shop Trailblazers in Carrick-On-Shannon donated a wetsuit, SuperValu donated food for the journey and John Nally in Lanesborough donated fuel for the boat.

"Everyone has come out and supported Paul in such a huge way. If we have needed anything, people have shown up ten-fold. People have just really put their shoulders to grindstone and got behind him, and we wouldn't be able to do it without that."

Paul has been supported along the way by his wife Hazel and their five-month-old baby.

Also offering their technical assistance were rowers Sean Garvey and Glen Patterson, mechanic Aidan Breslin, and Paul's brother, skipper William Little.