Sunday's Well Swimming Club, the 'Well', was founded in 1924 in Cork city. The Club is celebrating its 75^th anniversary in 1999. Historically the Club has retained a strong competitive orientation based on a solid teaching base. The Club operates on a purely amateur basis.

Current membership stands at 152 families and 103 individual members. There is a total of ..# registered competitive swimmers. Over ..##. SWSC swimmers are on the Munster Provincial teams at senior and age-group levels. A further ## members are members of the Irish National Squad, and there is one member of the Irish Elite team (Team 2000). The Club currently holds 20?? Irish National Titles including individual senior (5), junior (7), age-group titles (6?), and relay titles (4?).

Contact information:

Club secretary: Mrs. Patsy Manley

Club Chairman: Michael Bowles

Coaching: Head coach is Bryan O'Donnell. There are a number of assistant coaches and over 20 qualified swimming teachers in the Club.

Management Committee:

Club colours and arms: Green, red and white are the colours of all the Sunday's Well group of clubs. Suday's Well Rugby Club is based at Musgrave Park, while Sunday's Well Tennis Club is located in the Mardyke accross the river Lee from the slopes of the Sunday's Well district of the city. The right to use the Arms of City of Cork was granted to Sunday's Well Swimming Club by Cork Corporation for services rendered to the community. The motto of Cork city is 'statio bene fide carinis', which means 'a safe harbour for ships'.

Pools used for training and teaching: Douglas - Gus Healy Pool (021-29 30 73); Leisureworld - Bishopstown, tel. (021) 34 65 05 (training only); Mayfield (training only).

Main teaching hours: Sunday mornings, Douglas Pool

Main training hours:

• Top Squad: Douglas mornings 07:00 - 08:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 07:00 - 09:00. Leisureworld Tuesday and Thursday 06:00 - 0:800. Churchfield pool for secected swimmers on wednesday 16:00 - 17:40. Mayfield Friday 17:45 - 19:40 (bus from Douglas pool at 16:50).
• Development Squad: Douglas mornings 07:00 - 08:00 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 08:45
• Masters Squad: Tuesday & Thursday - ..... . Saturday 07:00 - 09:00
• Special training weekends are also held for the Top Squad

Top squad members by lane (October 1998):

CLUB RECORDS ....

This short description includes the names of some of the Club's Irish Champions, Irish Team members, prominent club coaches, Presidents of the Munster Branch and the IASA, and others who have rendered stalwarth service to the Club during its 75 years.

Dave Quintan (1937) became the first Irish champion from Munster. He was followed by W. Morough (1946), Mary (Wiley) O'Herlihy and Terry O'Connor (1956). Gus Healy, Lord Mayor of Cork, was IASA President in 1941 and was a driving force in the Club for many years. Gus was honoured by the City through the construction of the Gus Healy Pool (Douglas, 25m.), which remains the headquarters of the 'Well'. Under coach Leonard Clarke (IASA President, 1957) Brenda (Murphy) Ryan and Phil Darcy brought Irish freestyle swimming to new heights in the late 1950s and early 1960s, as the 'Well' won the Irish Championship Womens 4 x 100 freestyle (1959 & 1961). Phil Darcy was the dominant force in Irish freestyle and butterfly swimming in the early 1960s. Other top swimmers of this period were Ger Kenefick, Paul and Andreas Whelton (1960s - diving).

Tom Cross and Jimmy Martin were the club coaches late in 1960s and early 1970s. They coached a large squad with numerous swimmers winning Irish Championships and/ or gaining places on the Irish National Team. These swimmers included: Jane (Cross) Jolly, Stella (Bowles) Myler, Mary (Donnelly) Brickley, Dorothy Cross, Kieran Kelleher, Declan Bowles, Brian Clifford (Olympic honours), Mary (O'Neill) Lee, Neil Manley, Aidan Logan, Claire Coleman, John Corr, and Kieran and Sean Nolan. In 1972 the 'Well' won the Men's Irish Championship 4 x 100m freestyle, followed in 1973 by the Medley title. In 1972, the 'Well' ladies won the 4 x 100 medley relay and were to successfully defend that title for the following three years. In 1974, the ladies won a remarkable double - both the freestyle and medley Irish Championships.

A number of these swimmers have reached top world rankings in masters swimming and are still active members of the Cork Masters S.C. Jane Jolly and Mary Brickley were members of the ladies relay, which set a new world record at the World Masters Championships in Canada in 1985. Kieran Kelleher was a member of the 1993 relay which set a new European Masters record. Mary O'Herlihy, Mary Lee, Stella Myler, Jane Jolly, Brenda Ryan, and Kieran Kelleher have all gained medals at European, or World Masters level, and currently hold Irish Masters Records.

In the late 1970s the ...

The mid-1990s saw a revival in club fortunes with a steadily growing teaching base and a talented development squad. At the close of the millenium the 'Well' is the strongest swimming club in Munster and certainly the one to beat.