My Life with Julia Galvin: I competed in the wife-carrying world championship

Julia Galvin is no stranger to competing in strange sports, but wife-carrying may raise the most eyebrows

Splashing joyfully in her element, Julia Galvin pictured in the remote bogs of the Iveragh Peninsula as she trains for another season of competitive bog snorkelling. Picture Chani Anderson

Fly swatting, cow pat throwing, and bog snorkelling are just some of the activities I have competed in over the years as part of my quest to find weird sports around the world.

One of the major highlights to date was my foray into the Wife-Carrying World Championship, which takes place annually in Sonkajärvi, Finland.

I had just completed an interview at the time about my bog snorkelling. While reading the piece, I spotted that the journalist had listed other weird sports around the world, including wife-carrying. Being 180 kilos, I had no idea if I would even be able to find someone with the strength to pick me up. When I read that the prize was the woman’s weight in beer, I immediately knew this was something I wanted to be a part of. It sounded like such a laugh, and I loved the story behind the event’s origins.

The contest is believed to have been inspired by the 19th-century legend of Herkko — a Robin Hood-type character who stole from villagers and abducted their wives, running away with a new woman on his back each time. My call out to find a man to carry me sparked a phenomenal response.

Wetsuit-clad and windswept beneath the turbines on the Iveragh Peninsula, Julia Galvin stands proud, a champion bog snorkeller with a message of embrace the madness of life, and live it boldly as you only get one. Picture: Chani Anderson

I appeared on the Late Late Show in 2002, and it snowballed from there. There were some strange leads along the way. They usually came from third parties and rarely from the men themselves. People were offering up their sons, son-in-laws and brothers, but it was always a promise from a third party.

The man who initially signed up to carry me was an actual strongman. Unfortunately, that fell through as he was training to be a garda and couldn’t get time off.

He put me in touch with a friend in Wexford. His name was Paul, and we only got to meet at the airport. I can remember my mum’s cousin being very disappointed with me going away with a strange man to a foreign country.

She need not have worried because we ended up becoming the greatest of friends. I even got to attend his wedding, which was a lovely experience. My first Wife-Carrying World Championships was in 2003.

You’re upside down the entire time and even underwater for a couple of seconds. It’s 253 metres in total, which is only the length of a song. You have to remember that it’s a lot worse for the person who is carrying you. I’ve had a number of men carry me over the years, but the highlight was five-time world champion Margo Uusorg in 2005. All of the other Estonian guys who carried were always very strong of mind and body.

I was very impressed by one guy who, despite his small stature, still managed to carry me the 253 metres. For a man of 78 kilos, he was surprisingly strong.

You always have drunk people offering to carry you, but I only ever say yes to real athletes, and that’s how I’d like to keep it. I don’t want to hurt them or get hurt either because I’ve seen some terrible injuries in Finland. People have chipped their teeth, while others needed stitches on their nose and chin.

With a pink bowler hat, a shimmy, and a cheeky goodbye, Julia Galvin waves us off from the bog, a larger-than-life character showing us what it means to love what you do and do it your way. Picture: Chani Anderson

Being unprepared is never a good thing. I’ve tried out a wide range of other weird sports over the years, including cow pat throwing in Julia Creek in Queensland in 2008. Because it’s so hot, the cow pat goes flat and becomes a bit like a discus. You have to throw it as far as you can, like a Frisby. They had fly swatting at the same time that year, where competitors, including myself, were given a fly swatter to see how many flies they could catch. You get a knack for it after a while. The trick is to think about which direction the fly is going in and aim from that point as opposed to from behind.

While I haven’t competed in any of these sports in recent years, I’m looking forward to the World Bog Snorkelling Championships this August which I participate in in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales every year.

I’ve made some amazing friends through the sports I have been involved in.

Last August, I was invited to do a reading at the funeral of Gordon Green, the man who invented bog snorkelling. While this was a very sad occasion, it was also such a huge honour to be asked.

I’ve been competing in the event since 1999. I think I’m a bit of an institution at this stage, or maybe I should be institutionalised! Bog snorkelling is a lot different to the wife carrying because I don’t need anyone to do it with me. I go over and set up my little tent and flags. I call it my Irish embassy.

I think what I love most about these sports is the joy they bring both the spectators and competitors. There is enough sadness in the world, so we need to take happiness where we can find it.

Julia is currently training for the World Bog Snorkelling Championships, which take place this August in Llanwrtyd Wells.