Weary celebrities drink toast after Irish Sea charity swim

Olympic medallist swimmer Steve Parry led pop star Ronan Keating, TV presenters Jenny Frost and Jason Bradbury, and Strictly Come Dancing star Pamela Stephenson out of the choppy water as they toasted their adventure with hot whiskey.

Boyzone frontman Keating hugged and kissed his wife Yvonne and looked relieved to be back on dry land.

“It was daunting, it was frightening,” he said.

“As we went along we all found our rhythm and pace – the deep ocean swim was tough, your imagination was running away with you. But it’s a euphoric feeling.”

The five-strong team touched land on a beach just north of Wicklow pier 35 hours after jumping into the sea off Holyhead in Anglesey, North Wales, on Tuesday night.

The 56 nautical mile (65 land mile) charity relay was in aid of Cancer Research UK.

They had intended coming ashore at the popular bathing spot immortalised by James Joyce, the Forty Foot in Sandycove, south Dublin, but were pushed 20 miles off course by strong tides.

They were then brought by boat to the beach, where family, friends and fans had gathered since sunrise.

Keating said: “It’s the toughest challenge I’ve ever come up against.”

The celebrities were helped by “super swimmers” and while at sea each member of the relay was expected to swim for one hour until arriving in Dublin after an estimated 40 hours.

They hope to raise over £1m for Cancer Research.

Super swimmer Liane Llewellyn, 29, of Denholme, near Bradford, brought valuable open water swimming expertise and knowledge to the venture.

“This was such a big challenge, but everyone really came together and we had a strong bond and great team spirit. I still can’t get over that we have actually done it,” she said.

Nikki Fraser, an 18 year old student from Penistone, near Barnsley, who is a keen open water swimmer, said: “It was a bit daunting but good fun and I really enjoyed myself. Raising money for Cancer Research UK was the ultimate motivation in helping us to get across the Irish Sea and it kept us going when the sea got rough or we started to feel tired.”