Paul Emmett, Liffey swimmer
Paul Emmett's first memory of the Liffey Swim is peeping through the balustrades outside the Four Courts, holding his mother's hand. In 1956 he took part in the swim himself, and today he is looking forward to completing his 50th consecutive swim, along with his son and daughter. "Last year there had been heavy rain and there were a few twigs and branches floating in the water," he says, but in general the water is far cleaner now than it was during his first swims. "When we started, you'd jump off a Guinness Barge that was across the river, and swim down to the Scotch House [now closed] on Burgh Quay, and have a few pints in there." He won the Liffey Swim in 1973, and came seventh last year. Now aged 66, retired and living in Palmerstown, Emmett swims every Sunday in the Half Moon Swimming Club on Dublin's South Wall. The Liffey Swim, from Watling Bridge to the Custom House, takes place at 4.30pm today, with the women's race starting an hour later. Only people who have completed four official sea swims this year may enter. The winner will be presented with a copy of Jack B Yeats's painting, The Liffey Swim.