Liffey Swim and Other Swimming History

Liffey Swim and Other Swimming History

Introduction

The Liffey Swim, currently titled the Jones Engineering Dublin City Liffey Swim, is an annual race in Dublin‘s main river, the Liffey, and is one of Ireland’s most famous traditional sporting events. The race is managed by a voluntary not-for-profit organisation, Leinster Open Sea. The 100th Liffey Swim over a 2.2 km course took place on Saturday 3 August 2019, starting at the Rory O’More Bridge (Watling Street Bridge) beside the Guinness Brewery and finishing at North Wall Quay in front of the Customs House. An overview of the race and many interesting stats and curious facts about the swim is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Liffey_Swim

Diving from the barge at race start in the early years.

More detailed history of the swim is available in a series of chronological sections below. These have been written by Cyril Smyth. Better known for his love of athletics, see interview here, he has undertaken amazing, painstaking and thorough research on the history of one of the world’s most iconic swims. A series of documents have been created and we are proud to present them here for lovers of swimming, lovers of sport, lovers of life.

The Liffey Swim: The First Thirty Years 1920–1949

The-Liffey-Swim-The-First-Thirty-Years-1920-1949Download

The Liffey Swim-The Fourth Decade-1950-1959

The-Liffey-Swim-The-Fourth-Decade-1950-1959Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1960’s Decade-Part 1

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1960s-Decade-Part-1Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1960’s Decade-Part 2

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1960s-Decade-Part-2Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1960’s Decade-Part 3

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1960s-Decade-Part-3Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1960’s Decade-Part 4

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1960s-Decade-Part-4Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1970’s Decade-Part 1

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1970s-Decade-Part-1Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1970’s Decade-Part 2

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1970s-Decade-Part-2Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1970’s Decade-Part 3

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1970s-Decade-Part-3Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1970’s Decade-Part 4

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1970s-Decade-Part-4-V2Download
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The Liffey Swim-The 1970’s Decade-Part 5

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1970s-Decade-Part-5-V2Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1980’s Decade-Part 1-1980-1981

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1980s-Decade-Part-1-1980-1981-v2Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1980’s Decade-Part 2-1982-1983

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1980s-Decade-Part-2-1982-1983Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1980’s Decade-Part 3-1984-1985

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1980s-Decade-Part-3-1984-1985Download
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The Liffey Swim-The 1980’s Decade-Part 4-1986-1987

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1980s-Decade-Part-4-1986-1987Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1980’s Decade-Part 5-1988-1989

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1980s-Decade-Part-5-1988-1989-v4Download

It took some years before women are finally taking part. 1993 winner Sandra Trappe below.

Women-Liffey Swim Winners-1977-2022

Women-Liffey-Swim-Winners-1977-2022Download

Included also is information on the other swimming classics – the Dun Laoghaire Harbour race and the Island Swim. Other individual races also feature as they are part of the summer series of events which also double up as qualifiers for The Liffey, Harbour and Island events.

Pre Race start of Dun Laoghaire Harbour race 1939

The Liffey Swim-The 1990’s Decade-Part 1-1990-1991

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1990s-Decade-Part-1-1990-1991Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1990’s Decade-Part 2-1992-1993

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1990s-Decade-Part-2-1992-1993-v4Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1990’s Decade-Part 3-1994

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1990s-Decade-Part-3-1994Download

The Liffey Swim-The 1990’s Decade-Part 4 1995

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1990s-Decade-Part-4-1995Download
  • OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Liffey Swim-The 1990’s Decade-Part 5-1996

The-Liffey-Swim-The-1990s-Decade-Part-5-1996Download
  • OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Liffey Swim Complete Results 1920’s

The-Liffey-Swim-Complete-Results-1920sDownload

The Liffey Swim Complete Results 1930’s

The-Liffey-Swim-Complete-Results-1930sDownload

The Liffey Swim Complete Results 1940’s

The-Liffey-Swim-Complete-Results-1940sDownload

Liffey Swim Winners-2nds-3rds-Men 1920-2022

Liffey-Swim-Winners-2nds-3rds-Men-1920-2022Download

Other Liffey Swim Articles

100th-Liffey-Swim-Jack-B-Yeats-Wild-SwimmingDownload
100th-Liffey-Swim-2019-A-Personal-Odyssey-by-Anthony-HughesDownload
Art-The-100th-Liffey-Swim-Robyn-PittsDownload
Canon-Kenneth-Ruddock-Irish-Times-2-Aug-2019Download
Dont-drink-the-water-100-years-of-the-Liffey-Swim-Ross-MurrayDownload
Liffey-Swim-to-Take-Place-in-Dublin-Steve-White-March-2007Download
Memories-of-a-Liffey-Swim-Winner-Kenneth-Ruddock-1947Download
Recreation-of-The-Liffey-Swim-July-2019Download
Swimming-with-Anna-Livia-The-Liffey-Swim-at-100-DonalDownload
The-Liffey-Swim-Irelands-Great-Olympic-Artefact-Kevin-McCarthyDownload
98th-Dublin-City-Liffey-Swim-USMS-SWIMMER-Jan-Feb-2017Download

The Importance of Race Sponsors 1920-2019-Liffey Swims

The-Importance-of-Race-Sponsors-1920-2019-Liffey-SwimsDownload

There had been plans to have a memorabilia day as part of a planned Liffey 100 exhibition, but Covid intervened and it did not happen. If you have any queries on the swim or would like to donate memorabilia to the archive in Dublin’s Pearse St library, please email leinsteropenseahistory@gmail.com