A NEW initiative which is designed to bring migrants and local residents together in Ireland through open-water swimming has launched this week.
Sanctuary Swimmers is a collaboration between Swim Ireland and the Sanctuary Runners, a group which was founded in Cork in 2018 and uses running to help refugees and migrants connect with wider society in Ireland.
On January 16 the Sanctuary Swimmers group was formally launched following a successful pilot programme held in Cork in autumn 2022, where 18 people, from across 13 different countries, were taught how to swim by Swim Ireland instructor Deirdre Sheehan.
The Sanctuary Swimmers group, which has the backing of Refugee Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini - whose story is told in The Swimmers film currently available on Netflix, now plan to roll out the initiative at six locations across Ireland in 2023.
“Our hope is to create Sanctuary Swimmer groups in Kerry, Cork, Wicklow, Galway and Dublin this year but perhaps elsewhere too,” Ailís McSweeney, Ireland Lead Manager with the Sanctuary Runners, explained.
“We’re so excited to bring all our learnings from our work with the Sanctuary Runners to the water and to open sea swimming,” she added.
Refugees and locals alike will be taught to swim in open waterSanctuary Swimmers groups will consist of around 18 people and be made up of locals and people who have moved to the area alike.
During their meetings Swim Ireland instructors, with a specifically designed programme, will teach the participants how to swim and how to be at ease in the open sea.
Explaining the importance of the Sanctuary Swimmers initiative, Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane said: “The open water can, for some, invoke a feeling or fear, for others a sense of adventure.
“Those emotions are heightened for those who have never been in the sea before. Transcending these is the power of the Sanctuary Swimmers’ initiative and doing it all alongside people we care about and who support us is what makes it truly unique.”
Celebrating the fifth year of the Sanctuary Runners movement, which now has over 10,000 members across Ireland, its founder and CEO Graham Clifford said their collaboration with Swim Ireland offers another vital strand for community integration.
“We live on an island, open sea swimming is a liberating gift we can all enjoy,” he said.
“And even for those who may have developed negative views of the open sea because of their journey to Ireland, conquering those alongside locals is so important.
“As with our core work with the Sanctuary Runners we believe sport has such a vital role to play in community integration, in bringing people together no matter their nationality or legal status and helping natural positive friendships develop while always championing solidarity and respect to all.”
And Mr Clifford believes the concept could travel, claiming: “There’s no reason why we couldn’t look to expand this initiative to other countries.
“Often the best ideas are the most simple and when it comes to bringing people together swimming can achieve that in a healthy and positive way.”
