Brave swimmers take Christmas plunge for charity

IT wouldn’t be Christmas for many hardy souls without taking the plunge.

So, in their hundreds and thousands they braved the elements on Christmas Day for the traditional swim. It was one way of building up an appetite for the feast to follow.

At south Dublin’s Forty Foot many togged out in fancy dress for the biggest dip of them all.

Peter O’Shaughnessy, 32, summed up the feeling: “It was cold enough in there — about three degrees — but the hardest part is always taking the initial plunge.”

Peter knew what to expect, having taken part in his fourth Christmas plunge. He was raising money for Third World agency Touch Ireland, which builds schools in Africa.

Dr Holly Delaney, who lives around the corner from the famous bathing spot, said: “It’s definitely the ultimate hangover cure.”

Enthusiasts were out in record numbers, the first swimmers jumping in from 7am before the sun came up. And they kept at it for hours — obviously not all the same people, though.

As in recent times, women were well represented among the macho males who dared the waves on one of the chilliest days of the year.

Not so many years ago, a decidedly misogynistic sign left no doubt that women weren’t wanted where men frequently bared all to swim in the nude. The now disused sign used to read: “Forty Foot: Gentlemen Only.”

Charity swims took place in Salthill, Co Galway, Lahinch, Co Clare, Ballybunion, Co Kerry and Tramore, Co Waterford.

Swimming wasn’t the only charity exercise. The 25th annual Goal Mile was held at 56 venues around Ireland.