When I was little, my dad taught me to swim.  He spent so many hours teaching me and, with mum, taking me to meets, competitions and galas at the Chester City Baths.  

These pools are also where my dad swam and played water polo when he was younger.  So, my first fundraiser to honour and celebrate the life Martin Connolly must be a swimming challenge!

With his passing, Dad wanted to raise funds the RNLI - so for each year the RNLI has existed I will swim 1 lap the Atlantic pool at the Chester City Baths.

That’s 198 years and 198 laps of a 25yd pool.  Which is just under 3 miles.

But wait – Dad was also the one to take me to see the mermaids in Florida during our family visit… and in memory of this, I will swim those (almost) 3 miles as a mermaid!

It’s been a good many years since I have swum at the level to complete a mile in an hour and so I will give myself 3 months to practice, which will involve a mono-fin and getting used to that style of swimming (rather than crawl or breaststroke).

I will then complete the (almost) 3 miles in my tail over consecutive days by mid-March 2023.

Please do donate if you are able and you enjoy watching the unfolding of this FUNdraiser in honour of my dad.

/////

Let’s give you a quick history of this journey:

When we spoke about funerals in our little family; Mum, Dad and I agreed the word funeral sounded like an end.  We chose to regard them as a celebration of life and wanted to change that energy into something positive.

We each chose a charity we would want our celebrations to raise funds for.

My dad passed away, far too young, in October 2022.  His wish was that donations from his life celebration be gifted to the RNLI.

I am embarking on a journey to commemorate my dad by honouring his wish to raise funds for the RNLI for his life’s celebration. 

But I wanted this celebration to last on a little longer.

So, over the next year I’ll come up with fun and entertaining ways to raise donations. I’d love you all to be part of the journey for those who knew my Dad, for those who may only get to know him through these events or even those who just get to know about the RNLI and their amazing work saving lives each day along the British coast.