An exhibition celebrating the life of triple channel swimmer, Ted Keenan, is currently on display at Enniskillen Library.

‘The Legend Ted Keenan – Triple Channel Swimmer’ will run until August 31 and details Ted’s exploits as a marathon swimmer which saw him conquer the English Channel, the North Channel and the Bristol Channel.

To put the achievement into context, there have only been two other men who have swam the three channels, and Ted was the first Irish man to complete the three swims more than 40 years ago.

Always fondly remembered as ‘Ted’ or ‘Teddy’, he married Bridie (nee Quinn) and they had three children: Brian, Tony and Chanele Keenan, and lived in Enniskillen.

A joiner by trade, Ted looked after major contracts including the building of the Erne Hospital. He also worked as an Area Superintendent for Enterprise Ulster, and in ground maintenance with the Western Education and Library Board.

His long-distance swimming career was born in 1967 when he was bet a half crown that he could not swim Lough Erne.

Challenges

He swam the Broad Lough in just over five hours, winning his bet and gaining an appetite for more challenges.

Next, he swam from Mullaghmore to Bundoran, and the 12-mile route took him six hours and 15 minutes.

Ted first tried the English Channel in 1970 but was hampered by bad weather. In 1971 he had set out from France and had swam 20 miles when the weather deteriorated, and he had to stop a mile from England, due to fears for the safety of the team boat which included his wife and son.

He was heartbroken but returned in 1972, aged 38, and successfully completed the swim, becoming the first Irish man to swim the English Channel – it took him 18 hours and 11 minutes.

In 1973, Ted became the third man ever to swim the North Channel from Donaghadee to Port Patrick in Scotland, in 18 hours and 27 minutes.

And, in 1975, he swam the Bristol Channel, from England to Wales, in 14 hours and 26 minutes, completing the treble.

His son, Brian, who was with him on all his swims, thanked Margaret Elliott, Branch Manager at Enniskillen Library and Sinead Reilly from Enniskillen Museum for making the exhibition possible.

An exhibition was held in the museum in 2017 with much of the items and information from that now on display at the library.

Recalling his father’s exploits, Brian said: “A lot of people have done the English Channel, it would be the easiest of the three, in my dad’s opinion.

“And the North Channel is the most difficult because of the extreme cold, the currents and the jellyfish.

“The extreme cold was unreal. When daddy was doing it, his right hand became paralysed with the cold. His arm was going into the water like a claw; he couldn’t close his fingers, and the circulation was gone.

“And it was starting to go in the left arm when the temperature rose by two degrees and then he got the feeling back in both arms.

“Back then, the only person he had was me on the boat! These guys doing the swims now, they have a physical trainer, they have a dietician, a medical team.”

Ted’s family are proud that the exhibition is on display, with Brian believing his father did not get the recognition he deserved for his exploits.

“Daddy never got the recognition he deserved. The man is a legend. He was a hardy, hardy man.

“It’s nice to see the exhibition. As Tony [Brian’s brother] said, it’s great that his name is still being remembered.

“He’s up there with the likes of Sonia O’Sullivan, Roy Keane. They have all reached the pinnacle in their sport, as he did,” concluded Brian.

The exhibition runs in the library during opening hours until August 31.