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From A to Sea – The Southern Star Sea Swimming Podcast

The Southern Star

From A to Sea is a series of podcasts focusing on the sea and swimming in West Cork and Ireland.


Southern Star editor Siobhán Cronin is an avid sea swimmer, and in this series she welcomes a number of brilliant guests on the show to talk about the beauty of the sea, how sea swimming has become more popular in West Cork and beyond since the pandemic, and why everyone should throw on a wetsuit and embrace the cold!

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  • 20 episodes
  • Updated Dec 13, 2024

Episodes20

Newest first
  • Jul 10, 2024 · 32 min

    Award-winning ice swimmer Carmel Collins

    Carmel Collins is a swim coach, award-winning ice swimmer and has just completed the Fastnet swim. Based near Cork city, she swims regularly at Sandycove in Kinsale, and spoke to Siobhán Cronin recently about some of her many swimming achievements.

  • May 21, 2024 · 27 min

    Ossi Schmidt on the 'most scenic open water swim in Munster'

    OSSI Schmidt is a legend in Open Water Swimming – he was involved in starting the Irish Open Masters Swimming Championships, brought the Global Open Water Swimming Conference to Cork in 2013 and became honorary recorder for the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association in 2019. He has swam the Gibraltar Straits, and completed several relay swims including the four-person English Channel, Lake Zurich, Alcatraz, Robben Island and, locally, Fastnet to Schull. But these days Ossi is best known as the founder of the GaddinAbtGarnish swim event that takes place twice each summer, over to or around the stunning island off Glengarriff. Just ahead of entries opening for the second swim this summer, Ossi came down to Lough Hyne to chat to us about the origins of one of Ireland’s most popular charity swims. *** This episode was produced and presented by Siobhán Cronin, with editing by Dylan Mangan. Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's From A to Sea Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to our previous episodes by clicking here. For stories like this and more, pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Apr 23, 2024 · 30 min

    Niall Kenny on why Cork needs a Lido

    NIALL Kenny is an open water marathon swimmer and a Cork native. But, most importantly, he is the man behind the campaign for a Lido in Cork. He joined Southern Star editor Siobhán Cronin recently to explain exactly what a ‘Lido’ is, and why Ireland’s second city so badly needs – and deserves – one. The possible site of the Lido in Cork city. Kenny says that a possible site could be along Kennedy Quay, near the train station, where Cork County Council bought land from the Port of Cork Authority. A possible design for the Lido. Tune in now to hear more about the campaign, why Cork deserves a Lido and the benefits a city can see from embracing its river. This episode was produced and presented by Siobhán Cronin, with editing by Dylan Mangan. *** Follow Cork CLG on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or visit their website. Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's From A to Sea Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to our previous episodes by clicking here. For stories like this and more, pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Mar 26, 2024 · 30 min

    Underwater cameraman Ken O'Sullivan on making documentaries in the sea

    KEN O’Sullivan is an Irish underwater cinematographer, film maker, author, diver and swimmer. As well as completing documentary series' for RTÉ, Ken was cameraman on BBC’s Atlantic – Wildest Ocean on Earth series, a CBC Canada documentary on jellyfish and ITV’s Britain’s Whales and Britain’s Sharks documentary. His series on the North Atlantic, The Dark Ocean was hugely popular when it was shown on RTE last year. It revealed never-before-filmed behaviours of our stunning marine creatures, with an original soundtrack performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Ken has also made a ten-minute movie on West Cork elite swimmer Steve Redmond. He recently spoke to Southern Star editor Siobhán Cronin from his home in Lahinch, Co Clare, not far from where he grew up. This episode was produced and presented by Siobhán Cronin, with editing by Dylan Mangan. Listen below. *** Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's From A to Sea Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to our previous episodes by clicking here. For stories like this and more, pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Feb 13, 2024 · 20 min

    Swimming in Schull with triathlon coach Sarah McKnight

    SARAH McKnight is a Londoner who moved to Schull after meeting a Cork man. She's a swimming teacher, an open water swimming coach and a level one triathlon coach. McKnight started her swim teaching career on board cruise ships, and from there moved to the Cayman Islands, but every Sunday morning she takes a group for a swim off the slipway at the Fastnet Marine Centre in Schull. Southern Star editor Siobhán Cronin joined them recently, but before that had a great chat with McKnight in the town's Harbour Hotel. This episode was produced and presented by Siobhán Cronin, with editing by Dylan Mangan. *** Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's From A to Sea Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to our previous episodes by clicking here. For stories like this and more, pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Jan 8, 2024 · 30 min

    Nuala Moore on swimming in the world's most dangerous waters

    NUALA Moore is a force to be reckoned with – and the sea knows that! Nuala’s earliest memory is of jumping off her father’s fishing boat in Dingle and swimming back to shore. Since then, she’s swum in some of the coldest, remotest and most dangerous waters in the world, from the Bering Strait to the Drake Passage. After years of marathon swimming, Nuala struggled to balance sacrifice and achievement. Her work–life balance, coupled with caring for her father, forced a change in her pathway. She turned to ice swimming. Nuala believes that everyone is capable of greatness, whatever shape that might take. Her incredible memoir talks about her initial dive into the world of marathons and triathlons and how she eventually came back to her one true love – the ocean. Southern Star editor Siobhán Cronin travelled to Dingle to meet Nuala inside her beautiful little linen shop, where they talked about Nuala’s drive to constantly challenging herself, from scuba diving to swimming, and the world’s fascination with cold water. This episode was produced and presented by Siobhán Cronin, with editing by Dylan Mangan. *** Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's From A to Sea Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to our previous episodes by clicking here. For stories like this and more, pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Nov 7, 2023 · 28 min

    Pamela Deasy on the Union Hall swim and how the sea helped during her recovery from cancer

    PAMELA Deasy is a force to be reckoned with. The Union Hall woman, who grew up by the sea, is a great ambassador for West Cork. Through her work with the RNLI, she has touched many families and seen both tragedy and joy at close range. Her own personal life has brought her into contact with both, too – as she has become a very vocal advocate for cancer research, and is now in recovery from pancreatic cancer – one of the toughest cancers to defeat. She also organises one of West Cork’s most popular open water swims – the annual Union Hall swimming fundraiser for the RNLI. It has raised almost €100,00 for the RNLI over the past ten years. Here she talks about her relationship with the sea, how it has helped in her recovery, and how organising the Union Hall swim helped keep her focused during some of the most challenging days of her cancer treatment. This episode was produced and presented by Siobhán Cronin, with editing by Dylan Mangan. *** Thanks for listening to The Southern Star's From A to Sea Podcast. Please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to our previous episodes by clicking here. For stories like this and more, pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star or subscribe online via www.southernstar.ie/epaper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.