Derry Ironman Danny Quigley preparing for another mammoth undertaking

Danny is preparing to swim the length of the river Foyle – from Lifford to Kinnego Bay – in aid of Foyle Search of Rescue. Called ‘The Celebration of Life’, Danny is aiming to dedicate every kilometer of the 100km swim to the memory of someone who died by suicide.

Danny has been training for a few months now, but he is still in the initial stages of preparation. He will move to more intense training sessions when the weather improves enough for him to swim in open water. That said, he is still ‘flat-out’ to raise his physical and mental stamina.

He said: “If I get five swim sessions a week, it’s been a really good week, but I’m doing about four swims on average, they’re about an hour long each, and then I’m doing three gym sessions, which are an hour to an hour and a half each, and then I’m doing a run for about an hour. Training-wise, it’s going well. I’m getting the odd sort of sore muscle in my shoulders or my back but it’s not something that’s stopping me from training.”

"I know that I have to do a lot of swimming and, at the minute, I’m nowhere near what I have to do yet. Once the temperature rises, I can start increasing the volume, distance and time spent swimming in open water. Those longer sessions in the coming months will be the most important sessions to get done. Training-wise, everything’s going good. I’m staying injury free and in terms of being resilient in my training, I’ve got the challenge as my goal and that’s enough to keep me on track. If I didn’t have a challenge or some sort of goal set, I’d be more lenient on missing sessions and I would probably miss a lot more. It’s a juggle and a balance, just like everything in life.”

As Danny wants to dedicate sections of the swim to individuals who have died by suicide, he plans on spending the next few months getting to know each person and find out who they were.

"I’m doing this for anybody who has died by suicide and for anybody who suffers from mental health issues,” he said. “It’s not just for the people nominated, it’s for anyone who has been affected by suicide or anyone who has been affected by mental health related issues or mental illness.

"The challenge itself is going to be dark. I’ll be swimming every six hours so I’ll be swimming through the night too. I’ll not be able to hear anything, only the water. I’ll be with my thoughts for six hours and that’s the challenge for me this time. Mentally, this is going to be tough. Having those names, hopefully, that’ll be what I need to just keep going.

"That said, there might be parts of the challenge where it might be nice. It’s not every day you get to swim in the Foyle so it’s going to be an experience as well as a challenge. I’m hoping that I’ll witness some good sights. Sights that some people will never see and haven’t seen before. So, as well as the challenge, I’m looking forward to certain parts of it; I’m looking forward to swimming through the city, to the changeover in the water where it goes from fresh water to salt water. I’m looking forward to that sort of thing; will the visibility in the water change? Will I see jellyfish or sharks or dolphins and porpoises? I’m excited for that but also fearful for that too. If I feel something that I can’t see – that’s when I’ll be scared!”

Danny has more to think about than being physically ready for the challenge.

"There’s a lot of logistics involved in this," he said. “Probably more so than the 10 in 10. I’ll need to find entry points into the water and out of the water and to make them suit the amount of time I have to do it. I’ll be practicing in the Foyle too so I’ll get people to guide me along. I don’t know the Foyle past the Peace Bridge and the Foyle Bridge so I need people to show me the way. The tide changes every six hours so I’ll swim with the tide. The Foyle, on average, travels at 4.2 knots and Michael Phelps, when he broke the 200 meter record, averaged 3.7 knots. So, Michael Phelps swimming at full pelt for 200 meters isn’t going to beat the Foyle’s average flow. You would be going backwards – it’s physically, humanly impossible to swim against the Foyle when it’s flowing against you. The plan there is to get in when it changes so you’ve two hours of slack tide, where the Foyle’s not really moving that fast, then two hours of full tide, then another two hours of slack before it changes. That’s the window that I’ve got – between five and six hours - then out as soon as it changes and change, dry, eat, refuel, hopefully get a bit of sleep then back in again.

"I don’t know how long it will take but I’m starting at Lifford and going to Kinnego Bay, right down the Foyle into Lough Foyle and into the ocean. I’ll finish in Kinnego Bay and then maybe do a final swim from the Foyle Bridge back into the Boat House to close it off.

“There’s hopefully going to be a good feel about this and we’ll get the message across for what we’re trying to do, which is celebrate the life of everyone who’s been tainted by the terrible ending. It’s about changing that and remembering them for who they were and not how they died.”

Danny became a ‘local hero’ in 2021 when he did the ‘10 in 10 Challenge’ – 10 IronMan triathlons in 10 days. Some might wonder why he goes to extreme measures to raise funds and awareness for mental health.

“I think it shows people, without telling them,” he said. “And without sticking it down their throats, that although you’re going through hard things or hard times or hard emotions, that’s challenging you, it can be done. It can be done by dissecting it into smaller chunks and taking it one step at a time. If I looked at this and thought ‘this is a massive challenge’, the chances of me coming over it are very slim. I look at it as the six hour shifts – I’ve got six hours, I’m going to hurt for six hours and I will be sore, but there’s people worse off. For other people, it’s showing them that if you break things down then it’s easier to swallow and get done. It just shows that, when you’re going through a hard time, you’ll get there in the end. So, hopefully, I’ll get there in the end.”

To dedicate a section of Danny’s journey to a loved one,or to get involved in any way, email Danny at [email protected].

Anyone in distress in NI can contact Lifeline 24/7 helpline can be contacted for free on 0808 808 8000 in confidence; The Samaritans can be contacted 24/7 on 02871 265511 or Freephone 116 123 in confidence; Children can contact Childline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 for any issue or by visiting www.childline.org.uk in confidence.

Anyone in distress in RoI can contact Pieta House free on 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444; TEXT Crisis Textline Ireland on 50808 - a free 24/7 text service; Ring Samaritans 24/7 on freephone number 116-123.