From A to Sea – The Southern Star Sea Swimming Podcast · The Southern Star

Award-winning ice swimmer Carmel Collins

·33 min·2 clips

Carmel Collins says her first Sandy Cove lap ended with a panic attack, then Mags stayed with her around the island.

1. From A to Sea – The Southern Star Sea Swimming Podcast features Carmel Collins discussing her sea-swimming career and her recent Fastnet swim. 2. Carmel Collins is a Cork-based swim coach, award-winning ice swimmer, and recent Fastnet finisher, while Sean is the interviewer and Southern Star podcast presenter. 3. The episode asks how a swimmer who once had three near drownings built a career around cold water, coaching, and long-distance swims. 4. Carmel says her first contact with water came through school lessons and her father, who acted as her first teacher. 5. She describes stopping after three near drownings, including one when she was 13, because her confidence dropped sharply. 6. She says she returned to exercise after her daughter was born when she was 19 and a half, cycling near Cork and swimming weekly in Douglas Pats. 7. Carmel explains that a career turn began when an independent care worker at McCarthy suggested the lifeguard route. 8. She says Imelda Lynch, described as a channel swimmer, helped her through lifeguarding, swim teaching, coaching, and assistant teaching. 9. Carmel says she later completed fitness instructor training and level two swim teaching and coaching. 10. She recalls seeing the Lee Swim in the Echo in 2005 while on a break at Mayfield Sports Complex and deciding to enter. 11. She says the first Sandy Cove trial required a full lap around Sandy Cove Island, unlike today’s qualification process. 12. On that first lap, she says she had a massive panic attack, could not breathe properly, and relied on Mags staying beside her. 13. Carmel says Mags kept asking "are you okay?" and then told her to answer after several minutes, a moment they still laugh about. 14. She says that first swim around the island was done in mixed strokes because she was too panicked to stay in one stroke. 15. Carmel says winning a medal at the Lee Swim felt special because she had never won anything in sport before. 16. She says her longest Sandy Cove swim lasted 10 hours and that distance swimmers often count time instead of laps. 17. Carmel describes the 2012 English Channel attempt as a period when arm pain, feed problems, a delayed massage, and personal losses all piled up. 18. She says she later chose Ballycotton to Ardmore with Imelda Lynch and Ozzy Schmidich helping her rebuild confidence before moving on to the North Channel. 19. The conversation stays informal and practical, with Sean asking for place names, temperatures, and exact swim details throughout. 20. Listeners who like Cork sea-swim stories, cold-water training, and comeback narratives will get the most from it.

As heard by us

A cold-water story shaped by early lessons, practical detail, and rebuilt confidence.

Carmel Collins' story is anchored in cold water and the gradual rebuilding of confidence. It moves from early school lessons and a father who helped get her into the pool, through three near drownings and the loss of confidence that followed at 13, to the path that led her on to…

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You want a cold-water comeback that stays practical, not flashy.

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