Dylan (10) completes 100th successive daily sea swim

100 SEA SWIMS Dylan Sheridan from Newport (holding the balloons) pictured with his brother Jamie, sister Ava and friends Ellie and Melanie Jordan after completing 100 consecutive daily sea swims last Tuesday.

Edwin McGreal

If you’ve ever braved the Atlantic waters off the Mayo coast in October, you’ll know it’s not for the faint of heart.
That didn’t deter young Dylan Sheridan from Newport though who last Tuesday completed a remarkable achievement of swimming in the sea 100 days in a row.
From July 13 to last Tuesday, every day Dylan, from Lecarrow, Newport took to the waters – and no sign of a wetsuit either.
He didn’t pick it up from the wind though. His maternal grandfather, Séamus Hyland, swims most days in Mulranny and Dylan followed his example.
“I’m delighted to see this tradition being passed to the next generation. It started as a week long challenge, but grew from there,” Dylan’s mother Sabrina told The Mayo News.
Mulranny was the location of choice most days and his brother Jamie and sister Ava were regular companions while there were a few pier jumps in Kilmeena and Rosmoney too.
Even a staycation in Cork didn’t break the run with Dylan going for a swim in Tragumma beach near Skibbereen.
There were plenty of family and friends who joined along the way, when lifting of Covid-19 restrictions allowed.
Some days were built for leisurely swims but more recent weeks brought more challenging weather.
“He enjoyed his daily swim despite some adverse weather conditions in recent months,” said Sabrina. “On nice days he stayed in longer - playing games and surfing. On colder and wetter days he had a quicker dip!
“That said the wet and cold weather didn’t deter him, although, on colder days it took him longer to get in. I don’t think he feels the cold, as even on the wettest day there was often a request for a 99’ on the way home,” added Sabrina.
He had little in the way of sea swimming experience before this year but Sabrina says Dylan’s confidence in the water has come on in ‘leaps and bounds’.
He plans to keep it up, though not perhaps every day. A swim on Christmas Day is in the offing with all the family taking part.