Swim when you're winning

Not even the rats put off the hundreds of swimmers who turn out for the annual Liffey Swim. Roisin Finlay talks to participants in this year's event, which takes place on 9 September

Rats, filth, icy water and maybe a dose of dysentery. It's not enough to put off hundreds of competitors from entering the annual Liffey Swim, a spectacle that has taken place in Dublin city centre every year since 1920.

This year is the 87th race, and particpation is high, with 250 men and 125 women due to hit the murky water on 9 September to swim the mile-and-a-half from Watling Street Bridge, beside the Civic Offices, to a pontoon beside the Custom House.

Jimmy Reilly, former competitor and chairperson of the Open Sea Committee, says the race, which is currently sponsored by Dublin City Council, "is really growing in popularity and attracting people from all walks of life, from Dublin's old swimming clubs to those getting into the triathlon craze". While in triathlon, competitors are allowed to wear wetsuits for warmth and comfort, there is no such luxury in the open-sea swimming events, of which the Liffey Swim is the pinnacle.

Open to all ages, a handicap system pits competitors from as young as 12 against septuagenarians as they ply the traditional swimming spots of the Bull Wall, the Forty Foot, Seapoint and beyond, from June to September.

Nurse-turned-firefighter Rachel Lee is an avid sea-swimmer and has taken part in the Liffey Swim for nearly a decade. She is the favourite for the women's event this year, despite the fact that she will enter the water last under the handicap system. A former Irish swimming champion who spent her childhood training in pristine pools, she admits that "the water can be pretty gank", but says she wouldn't miss the event.

"The atmosphere is amazing. It's really social but full of competition and rivalry at the same time. The spookiest part is swimming under O'Connell Bridge. It's 50 metres wide [that's the length of an Olympic pool], and at high-tide there's not much room above your head, so it's pretty dark and eerie under there. And there are rats."

The water quality could be a lot worse though. First, the event is held in a tidal part of the river, meaning that it is flushed out twice a day.

Secondly, race day is timed to coincide with the Liffey Descent canoeing competition for which the ESB releases 30 million tons of clean water from Poulaphouca Reservoir to raise the river to flood level.

Maeve Dunne, another veteran competitor from Walkinstown, says "the water isn't too bad". However, she takes the "what you don't see doesn't hurt you and I don't go looking for rats" approach. Some of her children have been taking part since they were 12 and "none of them are suffering any ill effects", she says. Still, she is always glad to see the fire brigade on hand with power hoses at the finish to decontamination the swimmers.

A member of the 125-year-old Dublin Swimming Club, Dunne has participated since 1991, when women were first allowed to enter. The ESB sponsored the event that year and as an equal-opportunities organisation insisted upon their admittance. This year she is joined by six female family members – sisters Dolores, Eithne and Orla; children Michelle and Niamh; and niece Rachel – as well as her brother Matthew, son Mark and nephew Jason.

Jackie Kearney, this year's oldest entrant at 75, loves the inclusive nature of the sport and the event. "I've made more friends through swimming and it's great to do a sport where all ages can be involved, where old fellas, or should I say middle-aged fellas, can compete against kids," he says.

And Kearney reckons there are worse things than a bit of dirt. "At least in the Liffey you don't have to deal with jellyfish invasions. A load of us were badly stung during a race from Ireland's Eye to Howth recently."

This will be the elder statesman's 56th Liffey Swim. "I'm looking forward to the atmosphere, the cheers from the quays as the waves of swimmers enter the water and the great bit of skitting there'll be after the race with the other competitors. You should join us."

? More The men's race starts at 1pm on 9 September and the women's at 2pm. The Open Sea Committe organises the race and is part of Swim Ireland (Sport HQ, 13 Joyce Way, Park West, Dublin; (01) 6251120; www.swimireland.ie)