Monaghan woman completed 1,000-mile voyage around Ireland

A Monaghan woman has entered the record books having completed a 1,000-mile solo trip around Ireland in her kayak recently. Elaine Alexander, who originally hails from Clones became the first woman to circumnavigate the island. Ms Alexander left County Antrim Yacht Club on May 3 and crossed the finish line some 71 days later. "It feels great," she said. "It's been a long journey and has been really hard in places but I'm so pleased to have achieved my goal of getting round Ireland." Elaine, an outdoor activity instructor at the Share Centre in Co Fermanagh, she spent around 50 days on the water, with the rest disrupted by stormy weather. "That was the hardest thing, sitting on the shore not knowing when the weather was going to clear and I could continue on," she said. Elaine was storm bound for a total of 21 days throughout the challenge often with only a small tent for shelter. Nicknamed Shooter, the kayaker said one of the scariest episodes happened in a heavy swell off Co Kerry. "After four days off the water because of storms, I set out around Brandon Mountain off Dingle and the water was very choppy," she recalled. "I suddenly became very sea sick and was all over the place. But I had nowhere to pull in because I was going around the cliffs so I had to keep going. It was very scary." But Elaine insisted there were more highs than lows. "Going past the cliffs of Moher was amazing and at one point in the trip some dolphins swam along with me," she said. "Those are the special memories." The record breaker embarked on the challenge to raise money to buy a new accessibility bus for the Share Centre, a facility that provides a range of outdoor activates for disabled and able bodied young people. Elaine battled tides, cliffs, headlands and the Irish weather in her bid to raise £10,000 for the centre. "I expected, and had trained for the physical challenge, but I don't think you can ever prepare mentally. It has been a real struggle coping with the repetition of paddling, getting changed into wet clothes and packing up a wet tent every day. Especially on the windy days it has been hard just to push on that extra few miles each day," she said.