Laois woman about to swim Alcatraz to San Francisco despite bad fall

A brave Laois woman is about to jump into the Pacific in America, to swim from the notorious Alcatraz Island prison, 3 miles to the shores of San Francisco.

Mountmellick native Joan Fennelly who lives in the UK where she is one of the five intrepid Henley Mermaid open water swim team, will dive into the ocean alone at 7.30am on Tuesday morning, September 10 (3.30pm Irish time) in the first of two personal fundraising quests.

Then she flies across to the East coast, to attempt the busy 2.5 mile stretch from Manhattan to Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty, passing Ellis Island, where her grandparents first met as they emigrated from Ireland.

Her training was halted five weeks ago when she broke her nose in a bad fall.

"I was out for a stroll in the hills and woods at the back of Henley one sunny evening at the end of July, and I tripped on a tree root.. I unfortunately landed with full force on my face and ended up breaking my nose, bursting my lips and badly spraining my left wrist/hand.  The accident happened about 1.5 miles from home," Joan told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"After being fully checked over in the Royal Berkshire hospital in Reading, my injury was stitched up and I was sent home.  I spent the following week laid up, and much of the time had Captain Birdseye frozen peas on my face to bring down the swelling.  Thankfully, I did make a speedy recovery and was back in the water three weeks later. 

"Despite the trauma and upset of the accident, I feel very blessed to have many of my swim club friends rally around and help me prepare and get fit mentally and physically for my Alcatraz and Liberty Island swims.

"With both swims being done in memory of my late Mam, and while safety is always the number 1 consideration in the swim community, I would have been totally gutted if I wasn’t able to make both swims.  My Mam was a very dedicated member of St Vincent de Paul in Mountmellick for over 50 years, and in my own way, it means a lot to me to top off her legacy with this fundraiser, where all funds will go directly to help members of our community in and around Mountmellick.  I am very grateful for the generosity of all who have donated so far, and hopefully after both swims this week, we can encourage more donations to achieve, and hopefully exceed our target of €7,500," Joan said.

She arrived with the support of her brother Paul Fennelly to San Francisco on Sunday night.

"My brother Paul has come down from Colorado to be by chaperone and support for the Alcatraz swim.  We are also meeting family, friends and colleagues while in San Francisco, with many of them coming out as an entourage to greet me at the beach by St Francis’ Yacht Club early tomorrow morning, where it’s anticipated that I’ll land after swimming from Alcatraz. 

"I go back to New York late on Wednesday evening and will have a couple of days rest to prepare for the swim from Manhattan to Liberty Island, which will also have me swimming past Ellis Island, where my grandmother and nine of her siblings started their life in the US, as well as many other ancestors from my Mam and Dad’s families - this connection and symbolism of swimming past Ellis Island and to Liberty Island evokes a lot of emotion in me - as the saying goes, we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and have a lot to be grateful to them for. 

"The Liberty Island swim I will be doing with one of my oldest friends, Sue Brownlow, with whom I have enjoyed many swim adventures across the globe.  I am also delighted that my late sister Mary’s daughter Monica Thorne will be the support crew for myself and Sue, for our Liberty Island swims," Joan said.

Joan has already passed her target of at least €5,000 for the Holy Family Conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, which helps people in financial distress in Mountmellick, Rosenallis and Clonaghadoo.

Donate to Joan's fundraiser here. 

Joan is also inviting supporters to join a Whatsapp group for personal updates.