Tag Archives: Orla Foley

FORMER Irish Rugby international Rosie Foley has dived into an elite group of about 279 people who have achieved the gruelling Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. The 49-year-old Killaloe native recently followed in the footsteps of her mentor, Fionnuala Walsh, by completing the 32.3 km swim across the Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland in the United States. In July 2014, Rosie completed the 33.5 km swim across the English Channel between England and France and the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, a 45.9 km circumnavigation around Manhattan Island last June. She has also become just the second Irish woman to finish a marathon swimming challenge consisting of three historically important swims around the world. The mother-of-three undertook the charity challenge in memory of her brother, the late Munster and Irish rugby legend Anthony Foley, who died on October 16, 2016. All proceeds will go to the Mid-Western Cancer Foundation, children’s charity CARI and CRY, …

A KILLALOE long distance swimmer negotiated a treacherous strait of water with mixed current during a 45.866 kilometre swim around the Big Apple in the United States of America. Wearing a Munster red togs with FOLEY 8 on the back and an Irish flag on the front, Rosie Foley and her best friend Andrea Newport swam together in tandem under all 20 bridges around Manhattan Island. They swam 28.5 miles in eight hours and 28 minutes. To make sure Rosie and Andrea were safe in the busy waters, they were accompanied by another close friend Fionnuala Walsh from Cappa near Kilrush, who swam this route eight years ago, on one of three support boats. There was also a kayaker beside them from New York Open Water and they had plenty of support on dry land. “My husband Pat, who was born in New York, and three children Oisin, Brendan and Siofra plus Andrea’s partner Alex were on land,” said Rosie. …

RAFAEL Nadal is among the international sports stars supporting a Killaloe man to raise funds for a refugee camp in Greece. Tennis coach Wesley O’Brien is a regular volunteer at the Ritsona Refugee Camp, north of Athens. Two years ago, he started up a programme for residents, thanks to donations of rackets, balls and nets from clubs around the region, including his own in Killaloe-Ballina. As part of a bid to raise funds for a defibrillator for the camp, which is now home to 4000 people, Wesley has secured jerseys signed by some high profile individuals and teams. To-date, these include Nadal, the Munster Rugby Team, Usain Bolt, Rory McIlroy and Franz Beckenbaur. Wesley, who volunteers with Lighthouse Relief, now hopes to be able to sell these rare items in order to generate vital funding support for refugees. “I had raised funds for a defibrillator for the Killaloe-Ballina Tennis Club, so I decided to do the same again for Ritsona …