Hotelier and daily sea swimmer Dena O’Donovan

Hotelier Dena O’Donovan is a businesswoman, musician, entrepreneur and … daily sea swimmer. 

Having spent her childhood summers on Inchydoney Beach, the Clonakilty woman has continued her love affair with the popular strand and can be seen there most mornings splashing about in the waves or swimming short distances for health and well-being. 

She admits that her much-publicised trials and tribulations at the hands of a vulture fund in recent years have left her seeking the solace of the salty water more than ever. 

But she is also actively involved, along with other Inchydoney locals, in research, spear-headed by UCC, to monitor the ongoing coastal erosion at her beloved beach. 

As a result of this, the BBC recently shot an episode of its Storyworks series at Inchydoney, featuring Dena, and the story of coastal erosion.

But for now, here’s a little chat our editor Siobhán Cronin had with Dena about her lifelong fascination with saltwater. 

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