MEET the Irishman who completed a 12-hour swim in shark-infested waters . . .  at night. 

Brilliant Barry Murphy, 61, from Ranelagh in Dublin, completed the international Triple Crown in September when he swam 34km from Catalina Island to Smugglers Cove in Los Angeles.

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That is on top of  previous overseas endeavours — the 20 Bridges, a gruelling 48km swim around Manhattan Island earlier this year, and the English Channel in 2019.

And while those swims all took place during the daytime, the choppy 12 hours 28min Catalina Island crossing started at night, when the local sharks go into hunting mode.

In August, a month before Barry’s dip, a Great White even rammed a fishing boat off the same Catalina Island.

Barry, who has his eyes set on another shark-infested swim in March – told the Irish Sun: “I got in and just had to put the thoughts of sharks out of my mind.

“But it’s not easy as I knew they actually feast around the other side of the island, so I just had to plough on and hope for the best.

“The reason you swim up to eight hours in darkness is that you get less windy conditions at night.

‘A TOASTY 20C’

“I set off in ideal conditions but the weather deteriorated very quickly when what the locals call the ‘Diablo Wind’ came in, resulting in pretty lumpy conditions during most of the swim.

“It was a challenging swim but on the plus side the sea temperature was a toasty 20C.

“As with all these types of swims it’s about getting there, which I did.”
Barry’s name is already in the Guinness World Records book as the oldest Irishman to complete the Original Triple Crown, when he finished the Bristol Channel in August 2023 aged 60 years and 271 days.

It was the second time he did the Bristol slog after organisers bungled his first attempt and said they could not ratify his initial crossing.

He nailed that 42k crossing on August 24 2023 — exactly a month after his first go.

It made Barry, a member of NAC Masters club in Dublin – the oldest man to complete the Original Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.

The challenge consists of crossing the English Channel between England and France, the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland and, of course, the Wales to England Bristol Channel swim.

He has also completed the Irish Triple Crown, consisting of The Fastnet, The Galway Bay and The North Channel.

He is one of just 13 people to complete the Irish Triple Crown and one of 19 to do The Original Triple Crown. Only five people ever have finished both Triple Crowns.

By completing the Catalina Swim, Barry now has the triple Triple Crown — the Original, International and Irish.

But he is not stopping there.

He aims to land his fourth Triple Crown next month, when he swims False Bay in Cape Town, Robben Island and Cape Point.

Barry said: “I’m flying over in March and plan on doing the three of them in one trip.

“False Bay is the longest at 34km, so that’s the one I’m most concerned about. The others are both just over 10km, so should be OK.

NOTORIOUS FOR JELLYFISH

“Of course, there are lots of sharks in South Africa too, so that’s another concern.

“But at least over there they use a shark shield, which emits an electrical frequency that keeps them away.”

Despite swimming all over the world, Barry says his toughest test was here in 2022.

The North Irish Channel – one of the Ocean Sevens series of swimming routes — is notorious for jellyfish, strong currents, changeable weather conditions and low water temperatures.

Barry said he was stung about 20 to 30 times on that one and saw one jellyfish the size of a CAR.

He said: “I encountered a lot of jellyfish – one was the size of a small car, but the adrenaline and cold water helps you swim through the pain.

“You have to fight the urge to quit as you’re seeing people in the support boat wearing coats and hats who look so warm.

“Your body is constantly screaming at you to get out of the sea because the cold water is so uncomfortable. You question your sanity but you just have to keep going.” 

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FASHION fans are racing to Tesco to get their hands on a brand new Skims dupe – and it’s a bargain.

F&F, the supermarket’s in-house fashion brand, recently launched a new collection of bodysuits and bras that bear a striking resemblance to Kim Kardashian’s label.

Scottish Sun

Fashion fans are loving this new bodysuit in Tesco[/caption]

Scottish Sun

The burgundy buy is only £14[/caption]

The only difference? A cool £54.

Skims long-sleeved tops will set you back a whopping £68.

But the supermarket’s version is only £14.

And F&F’s stylists have just released a brand new colour of their popular bodysuits.

The burgundy item is already causing a frenzy with shoppers who have urged other bargain hunters to “run to Tesco”.

Boasting a flattering square neck and made from “buttery soft” material, it’s the perfect addition to your wardrobe.

After spotting it in store, one fashion fan gushed: “”Girls, run to Tesco for this new burgundy bodysuit. Love, love, love.”

A second cried: “I have this in every colour they bring out. I can not find [this one] at all.”

“Tesco bodysuits are my favourite”, wrote a third.

A fourth added: “She’s gorgeous”, accompanied by the heart eye emoji.

“Stop it’s gorg”, echoed someone else.

Meanwhile, a sixth insisted: “Oh my days, I need it.”

And even Love Island stars are hitting the supermarket in search of the copycat items – which are apparently made from the “exact same” buttery soft material.

Siannise Fudge, who appeared on the matchmaking show back in 2020, took to her TikTok page to share a video of herself sharing her new purchases earlier this month.

“Girls, run to Tesco’s F&F, cause they have Skims dupes!” she began.

“I managed to grab quite a few items in my size, which I was so happy about.”

She kicked off her haul with the contour bodysuit, as she said the £14 item was the “same buttery, soft, smoothing material”.

As well as the nude, short-sleeved bodysuit, she picked it up in black, as well as nabbing the long-sleeved body too.

“Honestly, such a good dupe,” Siannise continued.

“I cannot believe how similar to Skims this is.”

HOLYWOOD hotshot Rory McIlroy is set to make his first start of the PGA Tour season at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The Northern Irishman is part of a stacked field that also sees the return of Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth.

World number one Scheffler is returning from hand surgery after an accident on Christmas Day.

The FedEx Cup champion had small glass fragments removed from the palm, which postponed his planned season debut at the AMEX Championship.

While Joran Spieth is returning after wrist surgery, the three-time major winner opted to take time out after missing last year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs to get the long-standing issue operated on.

The popular American has plummeted to 77 in the world golf rankings, and will be keen to make his way into the AON next ten in the FedEx Cup rankings for Signature event exemptions.

Down ace McIlroy played the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month on the DP World tour.

But he’ll be keen to get off to a good start on Thursday at the famous Monterey Peninsula links venue.

Last year’s AT&T was won by Wyndham Clark after weather hampered the tournament.

The final round was abandoned because of bad weather and safety concerns, with 54-hole leader Clark declared the winner.

Shane Lowry is also in the field after a stellar 2024 saw him finish ninth on the FedEx Cup table.

The Offaly ace missed the cut at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, but will fancy his chances at contending on the links courses.

The tournament is held over two courses – Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course – the final wound will be contested at Pebble Beach links.

And there’s a whopping $20m purse up for grabs as the event has Signature status.

Japanese icon Hideki Matsuyama, who claimed the first Signature win of the year in January at The Sentry is also in the field.

Celebs and sports stars will compete in the Pro-Am, so it will be fun to watch but there’s plenty at stake for the pros.

ONES TO WATCH

Justin Thomas – 14/1

Jordan Spieth – 45/1

Will Zalatoris – 40/1

Keegan Bradley – 45/1

Thomas Detry – 66/1

Matthieu Pavon – 325/1

PURSE

The purse is $20 million with the winner earning $3.6 million and 700 FedExCup points.

How does the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am format work?

Each amateur will have a single pro for the event. The 80 pros and 80 ams will compete in a best-ball format (using handicaps for the amateurs) over the first two rounds.

The pros will also compete in normal stroke-play for the event proper. The amateur portion will end after 36 holes, and not extend into the weekend (this is the second consecutive year of this format, since the tournament became a signature event).

There is no cut for the pros, and they will play the final two rounds at Pebble Beach.

How to Watch:

All the action is live on Sky Sports Golf from Thursday.

A PATIENT has been stuck in a hospital bed for seven years despite being medically fit to go home, according to new figures.

NHS Fife admitted the unidentified person had been waiting for 2,576 days – the equivalent of seven years and 21 days in hospital.

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There were patients in NHS Highland and NHS Lothian waiting more than four years[/caption]

Several freedom of information requests by the Scottish Conservatives revealed many patients are waiting years to leave wards, even after being told it is safe to do so.

The shocking figure is well above the average delayed discharge time for the health board, which was around 20 days.

NHS Fife says this particular patient required “highly complex care in a specialist facility”.

A spokesperson told The Courier: “An interim placement would be inappropriate and unreasonable, and not in the individual’s best interests.”

There were patients in NHS Highland and NHS Lothian waiting more than four years.

While NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde -Scotland’s biggest health board – has a patient waiting 1,334 days – three years.

It comes just days after the Scottish Government announced it had scrapped long-held plans for a National Care Service.

Official figures showed that in November alone, patients whose discharge had been delayed spent an additional 60,696 days in hospital.

This is seven per cent higher than the same month in 2023.

Public Health Scotland data found that in November 2024 there were more than 2,000 people whose discharge was delayed, with many of them likely to have been waiting for care arrangements to be made.

The Scottish Tories said the statistics “exposed the true scale of the delayed discharge crisis on the Scottish National Party’s (SNP’s) watch”.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane, the party’s health spokesperson, said extreme delays to discharge should be a “source of shame” to the SNP.

He said: “It is scarcely believable that any patient would be stuck in one of Scotland’s hospitals for over seven years.

“Patients up and down the country are suffering shocking waits of several years despite the then SNP health secretary Shona Robison promising to eradicate delayed discharge almost a decade ago.

“These disgraceful figures should be a source of shame for the successive SNP health secretaries who have followed her.

“They have allowed a permanent crisis to exist in Scotland’s hospitals and frontline social care services.’

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on individual patients, there are some highly complex cases – including mental health patients or hospital-based complex clinical care patients – where unfortunately it is extremely difficult to find an appropriate care package.

“Long-term hospital inpatient cases of this nature remain rare, and the latest published official statistics shows the median length of delay for NHS Fife was 20 days.

“We have seen a reduction in delayed discharge in many councils in recent months and are working closely with all councils to review performance and escalate where we are not seeing necessary improvements in delayed discharge.”

Jim Crombie, deputy chief executive of NHS Lothian, said: “Very often when a patient is delayed in hospital for a long time, it is because they require a significant and complex, bespoke package of care that is difficult for health and social care partnerships to provide in the community.

“The issue of delayed discharge is a complicated challenge for the NHS, Health and Social Care Partnerships and council colleagues.

“We know that home is the best place for a patient to recover as soon as they are well enough and as a result, we continue to work closely with our four health and social care partners in Lothian to tackle delayed discharges, including increasing community health care capacity, home care and care home availability.”

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Dr Sandesh Gulhane, the Scottish Tories health spokesperson, said extreme delays to discharge should be a “source of shame”[/caption]

THE Jigsaw Killer left cops gruesome clues as he scattered body parts across the UK in a month-long reign of terror.

A severed leg, hacked off from the thigh, was discovered wrapped in blue plastic in the sleepy village of Cottered in Hertfordshire on March 22, 2009.

A week later, a left forearm from the same cadaver was found by traumatised dog walkers around 25miles away in Wheathampstead.

After two days, another gruesome find was made nearly 100miles away in Asfordby.

Police responded to calls from a terrified farmer who spotted a human head in his field.

To their horror, the eyes, nose, tongue and ears had been removed.

But the Jigsaw Killer wasn’t finished, a week later the right leg was uncovered by a pest control employee in a layby on the A10, in Puckeridge.

Detectives were then notified of a torso, right arm and upper left arm being left in Standon on April 11.

Cops feared they were dealing with a skilled surgeon as the limbs were cut “to almost surgical standards”.

And, the torso offered the first clue as to how the victim was killed – two brutal stab wounds.

But the force were still unable to identify the body and employed facial reconstruction experts to create an image for appeals.

The Jigsaw Killer’s victim was revealed as Jeffrey Howe after his adopted brother came forward to report he’d been missing for weeks.

Further searches led them to Jeffrey’s home in Southgate, North London.

Detectives discovered he had been renting a room to friend Stephen Marshall, then 38, and his girlfriend Sarah Bush, 21.

Marshall, a personal trainer, had previous criminal convictions but met Jeffrey when they worked as kitchen salesmen together.

The lodger and his girlfriend, who was a sex worker, had stopped paying rent shortly before the murder and cops started gathering evidence against Marshall.

They discovered the victim’s bed had been taken out and replaced with a blow-up mattress – as well as significant blood stains in the bedroom.

On March 9, the morning after Howe was killed, Marshall texted his boss: “Jus Letting u no I need 2day off c u 2moro”.

Receipts also revealed Marshall and Bush had bought cleaning products the same day.

CCTV then showed Marshall removing the missing mattress from the building.

After detectives reviewed the footage, they arrested Marshall on suspicion of murder on April 23.

Forensic testing later matched fibres from tape on Jeffery’s dismembered body to those found on the blow-up mattress.

Further evidence stacked up against Marshall when ANPR cameras flagged the victim’s car being driven by him after the killing.

A week after his murder, Marshall sold the motor and cashed cheques to himself from the victim’s bank account.

He was also caught trying to sell Jeffrey’s furniture.

Detectives pieced together the brutal murder and argued Marshall had taken advantage of his friend by refusing to pay him more rent.

When Jeffrey stood up to him, the killer stabbed him to death while girlfriend Sarah Bush held a pillow over his face then hacked his body to pieces.

Marshall stood trial in January 2010 and tried to pin the brutal murder on girlfriend Bush.

Rex

Marshall was arrested on suspicion of murder after cops saw CCTV footage of him taking Jeffrey’s mattress out of his flat[/caption]

But in a shocking twist, he suddenly changed his plea and admitted he had killed Jeffrey.

The case prosecutor Stuart Trimmer, told the Metro years later: “Stephan Marshall was a big, bulky man. He was difficult, I know his counsel had a great deal of trouble with him.

“Sarah Bush meanwhile was a sad character who associated herself with the wrong people.”

Stuart also spoke of how Marshall carried out the dismemberment.

“He didn’t cut any bones, he cut around the joints if he could manage it,” he said.

“None of the bones were damaged. We had a very senior expert come down from Edinburgh and, in response to how Jeffrey Howe’s body had been cut up, he said ‘if my students had done it [this way] in a dissection, I would have given them a merit'”.

It emerged Marshal had been a ‘butcher’ for the infamous Adams crime family – and was responsible for dismembering bodies in preparation for them to be disposed of.

He had worked as a doorman in the 1990s for a club owned by the notorious clan, who were also known as the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate.

The family tortured victims, chopping their limbs off, and amassed a £200million fortune through drug cartels, extortion and robbery.

Marshall would dissect the bodies and dump them in Epping Forest – admitting he had done this four times for the Adams.

He was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 36 years, while girlfriend Bush was given three-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice.

Forensic psychologist Professor Leam Craig said: “To commit a murder is horrific, the dismembering of the body then disposing of the body is even more horrific.

“And then to have the sense of self confidence to drive round the country lanes with body parts in the boot – again even more horrific.

“But for Stephen Marshall, he would have seen this as a job to complete.”

Not known, clear with picture desk

Marshall was spotted on CCTV driving Jeffrey’s car a week after the murder[/caption]

Not known, clear with picture desk

The killer flogged his victim’s motor and cashed cheques for himself[/caption]