English Channel latter part of the 19th century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover, swimming from England to France on 24–25 August 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes. In 1927, at a time when fewer than ten swimmers (including the first woman, Gertrude Ederle in 1926) had managed to emulate the feat and many dubious claims were being made, the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and was succeeded by
The Liffey Swim 1000 yards course at Islandbridge; ♣ 1-mile course at Islandbridge; ♥ First Liffey Swim for women on classic Liffey Quays under bridges course A club team competition was inaugurated in 1934 on the occasion of the 15th Liffey Swim. A scoring team comprised four swimmers, with the placings of the first four members of each team to count as points. The team with the lowest aggregate points was deemed the winner of this subsidiary competition for a special prize. A silver-mounted mahogany shield, sponsored by Independent Newspapers Ltd., was presented for the first time for the team competition in 1960