The Bull to Beara Swim - A Nitwit’s Odyssey

Hi folks - thanks for taking the time to read this. The short version is - next Friday, July 22nd (weather permitting) I’ll attempt the first ever swim from The Bull Rock lighthouse to the Beara Peninsula. I’m hoping to land on Garinish beach. It’s a straight/line distance of about 12k (and good luck swimming in a straight line) and it should take about five hours. I’m doing the swim in aid of the local Castletownbere RNLI station which has an incredible history of courage and service in protecting all those who use the sea around Ireland’s beautiful west Cork and Kerry coast. As with RNLI operations everywhere - it’s the volunteers who selflessly give their time and service which make it such a vital institution and I can think of no more deserving cause. Any support you can give would be going to a very good home , and help them in their work on the behalf of us all.

And now the slightly longer version…
Why this swim? Well, I have a bit of a thing for Cork lighthouses. A few years ago I swam from the mighty Fastnet lighthouse to Crookhaven (a swim of about 22k, 8.5hrs in the water) and, ever since, I’ve been looking for a new challenge. I visited Dursey Island a while back (you may know it as the home of Europe’s only mainland-to-island cable car) and The Bull Rock is an outstanding landmark in the area.

The rock (logically an island as people lived there) is 93m high and is roughly 228m by 164m. It is a small island true, but its steep cliffs give the lie to that seeming small scale. And it’s famous sea arch is a sight to behold.
The lighthouse was constructed in 1889 to replace the cast-iron lighthouse built in 1866 on Calf Island but which was blasted into the Atlantic by a storm.
The keepers were hardy men whose duties included looking after the lamp which in the early days meant keeping it fuelled up with kerosene, trimming the wick and polishing the lenses. They also carried out basic maintenance duties of painting, polishing brass and taking care of the station’s boats.
Bull Rock island had between one and seven permanent residents between 1901 and 1991, before eventually being automated, like all the lighthouses.
The history of The Bull goes back a lot longer than the lighthouse, of course. And the ancient Celts believed that the impressive sea arch on the rock was the entrance to the Underworld. I’m hoping not to discover if they were right. I’m fortunate to have the expertise of Brian O’Rourke from the excellent Bantry Bay Charters as my skipper, and my wife, Cliona, will be chucking my feed bottles and shouting low-key motivational abuse at me during the swim.
So that’s the story - I hope you can contribute a little to support the RNLI and I hope I can finish the swim. And If you care to share this fundraising page for those that might be interested, that would be great. Thanks! Ken