In Pictures: Thousands brave the cold for Christmas Day charity and memorial swims

Over a 100 hundred swimmers at the 24th annual Dunwanway Christmas swim in aid of the Dunmanway cancer unit CUH at Inchydoney beach in West Cork . Picture Eddie O'Hare

With conditions calm and relatively bright in most parts of the country, thousands of swimmers braved the cold waters of the Atlantic and Irish Seas this morning for charity Christmas Day swim events.

Hundreds turned out at Cork's Myrtleville beach from the early morning, where sea temperatures hovered around the 10C mark - more or less the same as the air temperature.