Hello!

We’re four friends from Cork - brothers Seán, Ryan and Eoin, along with our friend Peter - and this Sunday we’ll be setting off on an adventure we’ve been talking about for months.

Over nine days, we’ll attempt to travel the entire length of the River Lee, from its source in Gougane Barra to the Port of Cork. That’s around 80 kilometres, following the river from remote mountain streams through Cork City, landing at the port of Cork.

We’ll swim wherever possible, walk the stretches that can’t be swum, camp along the river each night, and continue again the following morning.

At first, this was simply a challenge between friends.

But as we planned the route and trained in different sections of the river, we found ourselves learning more about the River Lee and the wildlife it supports. The more we learned, the more we realised this river has an incredible story to tell.

Unfortunately, it’s also a story of decline.

Before the River Lee’s hydroelectric dams were built in the 1950s, around 15,000 Atlantic salmon were estimated to return each year to spawn. Today, only a small fraction of that historic run remains.

Research by University College Cork has shown that the original wild salmon population above Inniscarra has been lost, while across Ireland, Inland Fisheries Ireland estimates that Atlantic salmon runs have declined by around 90% since the 1970s.

More recently, the devastating fish kill on the River Glyde in County Louth, in which an estimated 20,000 fish died following an agricultural pollution incident, was another reminder of how fragile our rivers can be and how important it is to protect them.

It made us realise that this swim could become something more than a personal adventure.

It could become an opportunity to give something back to the river.

That’s why we’re raising funds for Cork River Alliance Group (CRAG).

CRAG is a volunteer-led charity working to protect and restore Cork’s rivers. They bring together local communities, scientists and volunteers to monitor river health, collect reliable scientific data and advocate for better protection of our waterways.

They’re currently fundraising for specialist water quality monitoring equipment that will allow trained volunteers to gather high-quality scientific evidence on the health of our rivers. This information can help identify pollution, monitor long-term changes in water quality and support restoration efforts across Cork.

We believe that protecting rivers starts with understanding them.

If you’d like to support our challenge, every donation no matter the size, will go towards helping CRAG purchase this equipment and continue their important work.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, and thank you to everyone who chooses to support us!

We’ll be sharing our journey over the next nine days on Instagram at @lee_source_to_port

See you on the river!

Seán, Ryan, Eoin & Peter