Maura Twomey, a 70-year-old former teacher from Boston, completed an unofficial time of 15 hours, 45 minutes and 23 seconds swimming across California's Catalina Channel on August 17, pending ratification. This makes her the oldest person to achieve this feat and earns her the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. Twomey raised €17,022 for the Irish Kidney Association in support of her brother Martin, who received a kidney from a deceased donor after two and a half years on dialysis.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Maura Twomey, a 70-year-old former primary school teacher who lives in Boston, crossed California's Catalina Channel on 17 August in an unofficial time of 15 hours, 45 minutes and 23 seconds, pending ratification.
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who → live → ratification
She became the oldest person to complete the crossing and earned the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
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She → become → Swimming
She swam in honour of her youngest brother, Martin, who received a kidney from a deceased donor in June after two and a half years on dialysis.
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who → swim → dialysis
Her fundraising page shows €17,022 raised online for the IKA against a target of €15,000.
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page → show → 15,000
How did the 70-year-old woman swim Catalina Channel
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woman → swim → Channel
According to the Irish Kidney Association, Maura Twomey is a native of Ireland who lives in Boston and finished the Catalina Channel crossing on 17 August in an unofficial time of 15:45:23, pending ratification.
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who → accord → ratification
The swim made her the oldest person to complete the crossing, and it also earned her the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which consists of the English Channel, the 20 Bridges Swim and the Catalina Channel.
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which → make → Channel
Her open-water career began with a swim from Alcatraz around her 50th birthday.
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career → begin → birthday
She then completed the English Channel in 2015, swimming from England to France in 16 hours and 23 minutes at the age of 59.
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She → complete → 59
She followed this eight years later with the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan in 9 hours and 19 minutes.
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She → follow → hours
Why did Martin Twomey need a kidney transplant
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Twomey → need → transplant
He was born in Dublin, spent his early years in Walkinstown, and moved with his family to Blarney, Co. Cork, when he was five.
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he → bear → Blarney
He now lives in Douglas, Co. Cork, close to his four adult sons, Darren, Daniel, Conor and Liam, and his two grandchildren, Beth (13) and Harry (16).
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He → live → sons
He had built a transport business with a fleet of 30 buses and stepped back from it last year because he was no longer well enough to run it.
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he → build → it
Martin's wife, Catherine, died from a brain aneurysm in 2023, and he agreed to donate her organs and heart valves.
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he → die → organs
Six months later, his kidney function had deteriorated to the point where he needed to start haemodialysis.
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he → deteriorate → haemodialysis
He spent two and a half years on dialysis at Cork University Hospital before receiving a kidney from a deceased donor in June this year.
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He → spend → June
The transplant took place at Beaumont Hospital.
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transplant → take → Hospital
Several family members, including Maura, offered to donate a kidney as living donors, but Martin declined.
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Martin → include → donors
He was concerned that a donor might one day need their remaining kidney, or that another family member might need it.
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member → concern → it
Maura Twomey is quoted by the IKA as saying: "Martin always put the welfare of his family before his own."
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Martin → quote → own
PC: idonate
How difficult was Maura’s Catalina Channel swim
Maura described the swim as every bit as demanding as she had expected.
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she → describe → swim
She said: "The swim began in 12-knot winds, chop and swells that never completely settled."
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that → say → winds
She added that in the final hours the winds rose to approximately 20 knots, pushing her off course.
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winds → add → course
She said that whenever she felt she had nothing left, she thought of Martin and what he had endured on dialysis.
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he → say → dialysis
She made the crossing aboard the Kamryn Dawson, supported by crew chief Elaine Howley and crew member and support swimmer Barbara Cocci.
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She → make → Howley
Kayak support was provided by Sidney Russell and Angela Lee, while David Sundius and Joel Virgil served as official observers for the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation.
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Sundius → provide → Federation
Reaching land meant scrambling up a rocky shoreline to complete the swim, which left her with a skinned knee.
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which → reach → knee
She credits Cork-based swim coach Eilis Burns, whom she approached in 2015 when she set out to swim the English Channel.
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she → credit → Channel
How much did Maura raise for the Irish Kidney Association
Maura chose to fundraise for Irish Kidney Association CLG, and all funds raised there go directly to the cause.
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funds → raise → cause
The page records a total of €17,022 raised against a target of €15,000, all of it from online donations.
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all → record → donations
It lists the fundraiser as completed, with donations available until 4 September 2026.
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donations → list → September
The top donors shown are Martin Twomey with €1,000, Mr O'Connor with €502 and Derry Cronin with €500.
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donors → show → 500
IKA is working to meet the needs of people and their families living with and affected by end-stage kidney disease, on dialysis and post-transplant.
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IKA → work → dialysis
It states that funds from donations and fundraisers provide services such as counselling, financial aid, the use of a patient support centre and patient holidays.
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funds → state → centre
Maura says: "The generosity of donor families is extraordinary."
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generosity → say → families
She hopes to encourage more people to talk to their families about
organ donation.
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She → hop → donation
The Aporia
