Danny Quigley feeling sore but determined during Derry Celebration of Life Challenge

Danny has swam the length of the River Foyle, through Lough Foyle and is now preparing to swim from Stroove to Kinnego Bay. Danny says his body is tired and ‘telling me to stop’ but that his mind is focussed on the task.

Danny said: “The first day was really, really tiring but the water was really working with me as well. So it was traveling really fast and I made up an enormous amount of time. I think I finished about four and a half hours before what I initially anticipated. So I’m really, really surprised with the water. I'm running off very little sleep now so the days are getting harder.”

Danny is swimming when the tide is going out, which means he is swimming during the day for a few hours and again during the night for another few hours. He says it’s ‘a bit scary’ swimming in the dark but is keeping his mind focussed on the challenge. People lined the quay and the Craigavon Bridge as he swam through the city at night, with some people shinning lights on the water and even sitting off a firework. Although Danny didn’t see or hear this, he says the videos and pictures of this is ‘keeping him going’.

Over 100 families have given Danny the names of their loved ones who they would like Danny to remember. He has been given pictures of each person, information on the things they liked, the type of person they were and their favourite song. Danny compiled a playlist of all these songs, including one from his dad, Colm Quigley, who also died by suicide, and he is listening to this playlist as he swims.

“A lot of the time when I’m swimming, I'm thinking about why I'm doing it and that’s spurring me on,” Danny said. “Sometimes I start thinking about how cold and tired I am but I try to correct that as soon as I can. As soon as any thoughts start popping in, I try to change that train of thought somehow. The music is really helping with that. A wee song pops up and it just brings me a connection with the people. It’s funny because as I was coming under the Peace Bridge, and my dad's song came on, U2, Beautiful Day. That was cool. It was pitch black, but it was a beautiful day – it was a beautiful night. That's what's keeping me going here.

"The support out there is unbelievable and that's really helping as well. I’m a few days ahead of schedule so I'm planning to continue to swim at Kinnego Bay and invite as many people down there as possible and get them dipping or swimming or get them doing something for their family members. I've experienced this first hand, in the sense that when my daddy died, like there wasn't anything done for him. I always wanted to do something for him and then, a year after his death, the Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum (BBHF) came to me and said they would like to name the Jog in the Bog after my daddy. This is similar, in a sense, for all those families who maybe not have had anything to remember their loved one. That brought me a lot of happiness and it brought me a lot of pride. So, hopefully, this challenge does the same for the families that I'm swimming for.”

Keep up to date with Danny’s challenge on his facebook page or on Foyle Search and Rescue’s Facebook page. Donations to his fundraiser can be made at https://gofund.me/2b38562d.