Meet the Forty Footers: ‘I was low, struggling with my sober reality, and one of the swimmers suggested I try taking the plunge myself’

Photographer Barry Delaney took his first dip at the Forty Foot in 2005 but it soon became a daily healing ritual. In his new book, he shares 30 of his favourite pictures from 18 years of swimming at the iconic Dublin bathing spot

Barry Delaney, picture by Abe Neihum

Barry Delaney

On a cold winter afternoon back in 2005, I met an old friend for coffee in Dún Laoghaire, and when we finished up, he told me he was going for a swim down at the Forty Foot. I was shocked anyone would swim on such a Baltic February day, but I decided to accompany him. I was newly sober and had got back into photography and wanted to test out my new Olympus camera on this secret community of winter swimmers.

We arrived at a deserted and damp Forty Foot. My friend John dived in, as I watched from the sidelines, taking some test shots. Then I encountered Tim, who became my first subject, and slowly I began to meet more of this eclectic mix of mainly male extremists, sprinkled with a few trailblazers like Jane Dillon Byrne and Betty Ingle. Through that winter and the next one, I kept returning, getting to know this small tribe, taking my photographs, building my portfolio and leaving.