Sanctuary Swimmer groups launching in Cork and across Ireland with Swim Ireland

A first-of-its-kind solidarity-through-swimming initiative is coming to a beach in Cork and others across Ireland this summer in a collaboration between the Sanctuary Runners organisation and Swim Ireland.

The ‘Sanctuary Swimmers’ programme kicked off in Bray this week and saw groups made up of locals, refugees and others who have moved from abroad, learn how to swim in Ireland’s coastal waters.

Along with Bray, Sanctuary Swimmers will be set up in Myrtleville in Cork, Dunmore East in Waterford, Dollymount Strand in Dublin and Salthill in Galway.

“We’re so delighted to get our multicultural swimming groups into the water,” Ailís McSweeney, Ireland Lead Manager of the Sanctuary Runners, said. 

“This summer’s expansion of the Sanctuary Swimmers’ programme follows a very successful pilot in Cork last summer.

“We found that as people learned to swim with their Swim Ireland instructor, they built a bond as a group and barriers to communication and integration were overcome.”

Sanctuary Runners is a multi-award-winning not-for-profit organisation which has been using running and walking to bring together locals, asylum seekers and refugees across Ireland since 2018.

Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane said: “The open water can, for some, invoke a feeling or fear, for others a sense of adventure. Those emotions are heightened for those who have never been in the sea before.

“Transcending these is the power of the Sanctuary Swimmers’ initiative and doing it all alongside people we care about and who support us is what makes it truly unique.”

The groups across Ireland will engage in four-week training programmes and each group will contain many different nationalities.

Cork’s Sanctuary Swimmer group kicks off in Myrtleville on August 7. 

If you would be interested in taking part, drop an email to ailis@sanctuaryrunners.ie.