On the 12th July, 2019, I'm going to attempt to be the first person to swim the entire 2.5 miles or 4km length of Lower Lough Macnean, crossing the 'border' from the North to the South of Ireland.

It will be the furthest distance I've ever swam in Open Water, & just in case anyone thinks that's still a bit too easy, I'm going to attempt to swim it 'non-wetsuit', just so as I can better appreciate the tropical temperatures of the lake!

I'm hoping to raise money for two local charities, both of which deal with a subject that has had a fairly significant effect on my own life & that is the subject of mental health.

The Aisling Centre based in Enniskillen & NorthWest Stop based in Manorhamilton, between them effectively cover all the counties surrounding not only the local Lough Macnean area, but all the North Western counties of the island, from Fermanagh to Cavan, Donegal to Sligo.

They both do amazing work & rely 100% on fundraising and donations. It isn't an exaggeration to say, that the work they do HAS literally saved lives & to continue to do such live-saving work, they need as much financial assistance as they can get.

Basically to just make it easier, all funds raised in Euros will got to NorthWest Stop & anything in Sterling will go to the Aisling Centre, & hence the two separate fundraising pages have been set up for this reason too: but sure if your happy to donate a bit of both, well that would be perfect too!

So please if you can, help me raise some much needed funds for these two fantastic charities. Anything at all would be greatly appreciated – sure just pretend you're buying me a pint (which I'll probably need once I hit dry land!).

Oh, & if you do happen to find yourself around the Blacklion/Belcoo area come the evening of the 12th, sure you can always come down & cheer me on too..... I'm pretty sure the closer I get to the Southern shore, I'll be needing every bit of support I can get!