An 81-year-old man from Árainn Mhór off the coast of Donegal has returned home to a hero's welcome after completing a challenge to swim at as many beaches and piers around the entire coast of Ireland.
Over the past ten weeks, Paddy Conaghan has done a circuit of the Irish coastline in his van, swimming an average of four times a day, but some days taking many more plunges in icy waters.
He left home on 4 December for the winter-time challenge to raise funds for a local Donegal counselling service and as he returned to the island today, he had raised over €104,000 for the charity.
The local pipe band played and dozens of islanders cheered as Paddy drove off the ferry after the crossing from Burtonport.
Taken aback by the crowd waiting for him, Paddy said: "If I was dead I wouldn't have got a better welcome home!"
For Paddy it was the end of an incredible adventure during which he had gathered fans and followers across Ireland and the world.
Along the way people joined Paddy on his daily dips around the coast and followed his adventures on his social media accounts.
His friend, Elaine Barney Grady, who looked after Paddy's social media pages for the challenge said she had been getting messages from Australia, South Africa, America, the Middle East and Europe from people who were following Paddy's story and felt inspired by him.
Two of Paddy's sons, Dermot and Seán, surprised him by returning home from Scotland and England for his homecoming. They said they were incredibly proud of their dad and that he was the toughest man they knew.
Paddy had spent his working life as a "tunnel tiger" working underground in the UK and other countries and was always into fitness and the outdoors.
Today he encouraged other older people to get active and make the most of life.
He suggested that anyone that's "just doing nothing - waiting for old age to catch up with them" just start doing something like sea swimming because you will feel good after it.
Paddy said the swimming challenge has given him a new lease of life, he looks at life in a different way now and said a new sea swimming club is going to be set up on Árainn Mhór and he plans to join them most days, if not everyday.
