Extreme swimmer recovers from ordeal

Nuala Moore was recovering last night after a gruelling swim on Sunday afternoon in which she managed to complete 1,700m at a temperature of less than 5C on a mountain late in Kerry.

Wearing thermal gear, she had been in the water of the high mountain lake for 38 minutes and had emerged safely.

However, her support team became concerned and felt she would have been unable to complete the walk down the mountain from Pedlar’s Lake at the Conor Pass.

Ms Moore paid tribute to the rescuers but said she was fine. She had been feeling low before embarking on the swim as her pet dog had died the night before. “I am fine,” she said last night.

The corrie lake is cold at the best of times, according to locals, and on Sunday it was “freezing”.

A full rescue operation, co-ordinated by Valentia Coastguard, swung into operation after being alerted.

Along with the Dingle coastguard, the Shannon based Sikorsky rescue helicopter was tasked and it arrive on the scene shortly before 3 pm.

Ms Moore was taken to Kerry General Hospital in Tralee suspected of suffering from hypothermia. The lake was extremely cold on Sunday according to rescue services.

Ms Moore, who swam around Ireland in 2006 and as part of a team completed a double crossing of the English Channel, uses the lake to prepare for a swim between the Bering Strait between Russia and the US.

She has recently been training for swimming an ice mile.