157/365 - Jill Meghen - Sandycove, Co. Dublin

Dublin

4 Jun

Jill is a trailblazer, even though she would probably never describe herself as one. Jill has been swimming in Sandycove for nearly 50 years. In 1974, she was one of the first women to ever swim in the 40 foot. Fed up with having little space or depth to swim in Sandycove at the time, she defied the gender ban and swam with the men.

Jill worked for RTE, but when she got married had to give up her job and stay home. However, she feels that the marriage bar (a ban on employing married women) wasn’t such an awful thing as she got to spend time with her children and focus on creating a home for them, which she cherished.

Jill still swims in Sandycove, sometimes twice a day. Today, she defiantly ignores the red flag that’s just gone up. There’s still a bit of rebel in her it seems.