Edele making one final push for cancer charity

A LOCAL woman who is poised to complete a marathon month of swims in the Gortin Lakes to raise funds for a cancer charity has admitted it’s the toughest thing she has ever done.

Edele McGirr, who lives in Tycur, has been going for a swim in the Gortin Lakes every morning during the month of November as part of the Cancer Research ‘s UK-wide ‘Cold Water Challenge’.

Edele’s brother Rory died from cancer two years ago, as did two of her aunties, while another is currently in palliative care.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning is the social worker’s final fling and no one is more delighted or relieved about that than her.

“ My poor body is in bits,” she said.

“And to be honest come Tuesday morning there will be a lot of tears, I mean a lot of tears.

“It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions, I definitely underestimated how tough a challenge this would be.

“I’m a member of the ‘Gortin Dippers’ and I thought it would be no bother but it was just the pressure of getting up every day before work and so on.

“Last week was the toughest because it had got so cold.”

Edele had always been a strong swimmer but during lockdown and because pools were closed she dipped her toes in the local lake after a day hiking.

She was bitten by the bug there and then and hasn’t left the local beauty spot since.

As well as the physical benefits, Edele stressed how beneficial swimming in the Gortin Lakes has been for her mental health and highly recommends it to anyone who hasn’t tried it.

That said, she is looking
forward to Wednesday immensely.

“I will be having a few days break because I definitely need it!”

l To date, Edele has raised over £2,200 and anyone who would like to show their support and donate to this worthy cause can go to Edele’s facebook page (Edele Ellen) where they will find a link to a JustGiving page.