Triple channel swimmer Ted Keenan has been added to the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association (ILDSA) Hall of Fame.

A posthumous Hall of Fame award was presented to the Enniskillen man at a celebratory event in Dublin last week in recognition of his achievements.

The marathon swimmer, who died in September 2013, was the first Irish man and just the second in the world to swim the English Channel, the North Channel and the Bristol Channel. 

READ: Death of swimming legend Ted Keenan
The records he set over 40 years ago still stand today.
In 1972 Ted became the first Irish man to swim the English Channel (in 18 hours 11 minutes); in 1973 he swam the North Channel (in 18 hours 27 minutes); and in 1975 he swam the Bristol Channel (breaking the record with a time of 14 hours 26 minutes).
His achievements were formally acknowledged when his name was included in the Fort Lauderdale International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1984, alongside the names of Olympic swimmers such as Mark Spitz.
In 2014, Ted was posthumously awarded the Sporting Great accolade at The Impartial Reporter Sport’s Awards.

This latest award was collected by his sons Brian and Tony.

READ: Exhibition to celebrate swimming legend's career
Last year, an exhibition was held at Enniskillen Castle museum called ‘The Legend Ted Keenan – Triple Chanel Swimmer’. One of the men who was on the boat as Ted completed the North Channel swim was Brian Meharg. He attended the Enniskillen exhibition and suggested that it be shown at the ILDSA annual celebratory event. 

Commenting on his father’s latest award, Brian Keenan said: “He’s only getting the recognition he deserves now. It was a wonderful event and a lovely accolade for Daddy.”

He added: “The people attending the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association event know about long distance swimming. They are the experts and they were in awe of Daddy’s achievements.”
Brian concluded by voicing his thanks to Sinead Reilly at Enniskillen Museum, who helped the family compile the Ted Keenan exhibition.