Jumping into the River Liffey has been a dangerous pastime for Dubliners for centuries. Some do it for kicks, others for bets and others just to cool down during hot summer days. A quick scan of The Irish Times archive showcases the long running (and often deadly) activity.
An Irish Times article from March 1890 relates the story of a Miss Marie Finny, “a professional swimmer” who was arrested just before she attempted to jump into the river off O’Connell Bridge. [1]
In 1909, a hotel porter called Hugh Bernard McGrath was rescued from the Liffey after he got into difficulty swimming after jumping from the eastern parapet of O’Connell Bridge. [2]
A “strange affair” was reported in 1932 which concerned an “unknown man” who was seen swimming in the liffey late one Monday evening. It was reported did not “take any notice” of two life buoys that were thrown towards him or a boat that passed. He soon got into difficulty and drowned. [3]
In 1939, a soldier named James Donlan (25) “disappeared” while swimming in the Liffey. It took a extensive search operation to find his body. [4]
The body of Michael Kinsella, 35, a labourer in the Guinness brewery was found in the Liffey in 1954. It was believed that he entered the river “to settle a wager”. [5]
There were also cases of young men drowning in the Liffey in August 1968, January 1977 and December 1986.
In 1994, a Scottish tourist drowned after trying to swim across the Liffey in the early hours of Saturday morning. [6]
As you can see from the youtube clips below, jumping into the Liffey is as popular as ever. (Come Here To Me! does not reccomend it.)
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1. Anon, Attempt to jump from O’Connell Bridge into the Liffey, The Irish Times Saturday, March 29, 1890
2. Anon, Rescue from the Liffey, The Irish Times, Saturday, July 10, 1909
3. Anon, Man Drowned In The Liffey, The Irish Times, Tuesday, January 19, 1932
4. Anon, Soldier Drowned In The Liffey, The Irish Times, Friday, August 18, 1939
5. Anon, Swimmers Body Taken From Liffey, The Irish Times, Monday, November 15, 1954
6. Anon, Tourist Dies Trying To Swim Liffey, The Irish Times, Monday, May 30, 1994
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
As this post seems to be as much about drowning as swimming I thought I’d just mention that my grandfather was fished out of the Liffey on 11 June 1918.
The coroner could not determine how he ended up in the river. Newspaper coverage of drownings of ordinary people was minimal in those days as, between the Liffey and the canals, they were drowning two a penny . And, unfortunately, the full records of the inquest went up in smoke in the Four Courts. Only the abstract survived.
There is a symbolic end to the story, however, as one of my sons was born on that date some 61 years later.
Death and renewal.
Thanks for that excellent contribution Póló, I’m sure jaycarax will be grateful.
This one is bizarre, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih2P0rR6Jc8 , the Bus Eireann that ended up in the Liffey.