TV presenter Tracy Piggott was overwhelmed by the reception she was accorded when she arrived at the Galway Races a good three hours behind schedule last night.
Ms Piggott had spent a gruelling seven hours swimming underwater across Galway Bay, from Finavarra Point, Co Clare, to Salthill to raise funds for leukaemia research.
She admitted she met the dreaded wall about two-thirds of the way through her journey of seven nautical miles, but was delighted to have completed the swim in aid of the John Durkan Leukaemia Trust.
Ms Piggott was a good friend of John Durkan, the 32-year-old jockey and trainer who died of leukaemia in January.
It was during the wake after John's death that she decided to help his family set up the trust fund.
Ms Piggott's achievement, becoming the first person to swim underwater across the bay, is set to raise at least £100,000 for the trust fund.
All funds raised go towards a new £2 million cancer research centre at St James's Hospital in Dublin.
The Network 2 presenter admitted she would be late for work, covering the race meeting at Ballybrit. "It took a lot longer than I expected and it seemed as though we were not making enough progress at one stage," she said.
But the Garda Sub Aqua Unit was superb and she kept talking to the fish for company.
Her spirits never dropped and she was delighted by the wonderful reception she had when she came ashore shortly after 5 p.m.
"I think we all have somebody who suffered from [leukaemia]," she said. "I felt I wanted to do this to raise money.
"I love Galway and I have a lot of friends here, so I thought it would be ideal to do this during Race Week."
Her father, Lester, was there to see her off in the morning, although the strong tides added considerably to the time it took her to cross the bay.
But she only stopped once, when she had to change her scuba tank.
Mr Bill Durkan, the father of the late John Durkan, said his family was overwhelmed by what she had done in memory of his son.
"She was a great friend of John's when he was ill and she has remained a great friend of the family's," he said.
"It is marvellous what she has done and she is the greatest Christian I have ever come across."