A swim at every one of Ireland’s Blue Flag beaches

Hughes and Leahy, whose day jobs are in the tourism industry, met for the first time at a Tourism Ireland event in San Francisco last March. 

From the off, the duo got on like a house on fire, which Leahy attributes to them both being “equal measures of craic and madness combined”.

At the event, Leahy made a speech in which she referenced the many fabulous free things to do in Ireland, listing among them sea swimming at any of our island’s gorgeous Blue Flag beaches.

Biddy Hughes and Orla Leahy walk arm in arm towards the ocean at Inchydoney beach for their final Sea Fillies swim. Pictures: Chani Anderson

Then, afterwards, in the course of a casual chat, a question was put to her: How many Blue Flag beaches had she swum? The answer was a somewhat underwhelming total of one, but it got her thinking…

Why not swim them all?

Leahy and Hughes snatched some time from their hectic San Francisco schedule to indulge their passion for sea swimming at the city’s Dolphin Club. 

It was there, in the elegant shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, that the idea for their epic adventure began to properly hatch.

“We had such fun and such a buzz,” recalls Hughes of their invigorating swim in San Francisco Bay’s chilly waters.

“That swim really fed the whole idea of the Blue Flag beaches.”

Their project needed a name.

“Initially we were the Thalasso Fillies,” explains Leahy — thalasso is Greek for ‘sea’ — “but nobody could pronounce it!”

Having settled on the simpler Sea Fillies, the duo committed to the mammoth task of swimming Ireland’s 98 Blue Flag beaches — of which four are at inland lakes, and nine are in the North — and just went for it.

Huge commitment of time and travel 

“Literally, within a month we had swum our first beach, had a donation page set up and we were out the gap,” recalls Hughes, admitting that the pair were perhaps a little naive as to the sheer amount of time and travel they’d signed themselves up for.

Orla Leahy and Biddy Hughes share an emotional embrace on Inchydoney beach. Picture: Chani Anderson

They snatched evenings here, days there, and countless weekends driving up and down the country, ticking off one blue flag beach after another, raising funds and slowly building their tribe as they went.

For logistical reasons, the pair regularly completed multiple swims in a day, committing to spending a minimum of eight minutes in the water at each one, which Hughes timed on her smartwatch.

“You’re getting into the sea for eight minutes, getting out, disrobing, trying to warm up, driving to your next location,” explains Leahy.

You’d be extremely cold by the end of the day, which was the only downside to the whole thing. That was quite challenging.”

The cold didn’t deter them, though, nor did 30-hour weekend drives, sore throats or a foot fracture. 

The sea and the salty air and the chats with those who came to swim alongside them proved to be an unbeatable tonic that always made the effort worth it

“No matter how far we’d driven or how tired we were, as soon as we hit the sea, we were buzzing, invigorated, laughing, and joking,” Leahy says.

She said that the summer of 2025 was her first ever free from hay fever, and her psoriasis subsided too. 

“It was a game-changer for me. I could clearly see the health benefits.”

A worthy volunteer-led charity

They weren’t swimming for the good of their health — although that was a bonus — but rather were doing it to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a largely volunteer-led charity that saves lives at sea

“It was a no-brainer for us because they’ve touched so many lives across the country,” says Hughes.

“But my God, the closer we got to them, the more meaningful it became.”

Hughes and Leahy connected with the “phenomenal” Irish branch of the RNLI to ensure that any funds raised would directly support the RNLI’s local services in Ireland. They’ve met many RNLI volunteers on Sea Fillies swim days.

Well-wishers and swimmers gather to cheer on the Sea Fillies as they finish their final swim in support of the RNLI. 

“They’re the most incredible, selfless people. They work tirelessly to protect the coast,” says Leahy.

When I speak to the two women over Zoom — Leahy is at home in Cashel, Co Tipperary, while Hughes, who lives in Westport, Co Mayo, calls in from a London hotel room — it’s the first time they’ve laid eyes on each other since completing the final swim of the inaugural Sea Fillies project, and the easy rapport they have is instantly evident: Biddy has nicknamed Orla ‘Giddy’.

Both come across as can-do, positive people, and they certainly needed a fair measure of resilience and optimism to complete all 98 swims in the timescale they’d set themselves: “We wanted to be finished before winter really kicked in. Our timeline was to be wrapped up by October.”

Their briny odyssey’s debut dip was at Co Clare’s Fanore beach in April last year and concluded at West Cork’s Inchydoney beach on a gloriously sunny day at the end of October.

They had supporters and swimmers from near and far that last day, which in itself was a measure of how far they’d come.

Harking back to one of their first Sea Fillies swims, Leahy recalls the turnout wasn’t quite so impressive. She and Hughes were in Killarney for Meitheal, the annual gathering of Ireland’s tourism industry.

Smiles and hugs on the shore as friends reunite to celebrate the Sea Fillies’ achievement. 

“I remember us thinking we were going to drum up a massive crowd and have loads of people swimming with us,” she says.

“The two of us arrived on Derrynane beach and looked around. There was one stray dog on the beach and the two of us. That particular day, we had two followers on our Sea Fillies Instagram page, and I think it was both of our mothers!”

“We were laughing, saying, ‘oh my God, what are we doing, the two of us!’” interjects Hughes.

“What happened afterwards was quite remarkable,” continues Leahy. “It became this whole community of amazing people who joined us on different occasions, wherever they could, whatever region we were in.

It’s been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It’s been just fantastic.”

Through their Sea Fillies pilgrimage, they rediscovered places they loved and found plenty of new ones.

From Dunmore East’s “cute village” and Derrynane’s “mind-blowing” strand to Ballycotton’s “beach as far as the eye could see” and “stunning” Barleycove, they have too many favourites to mention.

Mixed emotions after 97 swims

After 97 swims, the last hurrah at Inchydoney had mixed emotions.

“There was a great crowd there as well as family and loads of friends,” recalls Hughes. 

“We had a little cry going into the sea, we were bawling. That was washed away fairly quickly, because there were so many lovely people there braving it with us. It was definitely a happy-sad moment.”

Their beach-hopping journey has been “life-changing”, Leahy says: “Not only for the two of us, but definitely for a few of the people that joined us along the way.”

What’s next for Sea Fillies? 

Orla Leahy and Biddy Hughes with supporter Trisha Gallagher, who created a quilted flag to commemorate the Sea Fillies’ incredible achievement.

They’re not sure yet. They’re passionate about continuing to support the work of the RNLI and love the “beautiful community” that has organically evolved around Sea Fillies — many of whom wear the sold-out Sea Fillies T-shirt listing the 98 swim spots.

Their movement has the potential to go global, and a contact in South Africa has already expressed an interest in doing something similar there.

They definitely want to keep their Instagram page alive to continue to showcase everything they love about their favourite beaches, including some of the incredible facilities and food that’s now available in their vicinity.

“There were some beaches where we got into the sauna [afterwards],” Hughes says.

The two had a new-year reunion recently on Silver Strand and chatted about what 2026 might hold for Sea Fillies.

Silhouetted against the bright October sun, swimmers take to the waves at Inchydoney Beach to join Orla Leahy and Biddy Hughes for their final Sea Fillies swim in aid of the RNLI. Picture Chani Anderson.

“Watch this space!” Orla says.

Tourism is in the duo’s blood, and their Sea Fillies mission has made them even more passionate about showcasing Ireland, its beautiful coastline and its Blue Flag beaches.

Hughes and Leahy are now “friends for life” and, just like the sea they love so much, they are forces of nature, too — you get the feeling the Sea Fillies are only getting started.