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Thousands of festive swimmers have taken the plunge at Christmas Day dips all over the island of Ireland.<\/p>\nThousands of festive swimmers have taken the plunge at Christmas Day dips all over the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n
The increasingly popular seasonal tradition saw beaches, coastal rocks and lake shores north and south packed with brave bathers.<\/p>\n
With hardy souls temporarily swapping turkey for trunks and Brussel sprouts for bikinis, events were staged from Portstewart Strand on the Causeway Coast to Myrtleville beach in Co Cork, and many spots in between.<\/p>\n
In Co Dublin, an annual swim to raise funds for the RNLI has been held by Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club for the past 42 years.<\/p>\n
Ian Sargent, 74, who has been raising cash throughout those four decades, said the event was stronger than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur annual Christmas swim has been going from the 70s and it has been getting bigger every year, with more and more participation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Sargent stayed on dry land this year, insisting his winter dipping days were being him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped that when I was 60,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n
Sailor Tom Leonard was among those who braved the waves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do this for the RNLI every year, it\u2019s a great cause, they do great work and without them we wouldn\u2019t be sailing on the sea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fellow swimmer John O\u2019Reilly said the event had earned a reputation for the amount of money raised.<\/p>\n
\u201cForty two years ago we started swimming here and we raised the largest amount of money for the lifeboat in the British Isles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you can see by the crowd we are going to raise more money today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orla Doogue, a member of the club\u2019s fundraising committee, highlighted her family\u2019s own debt of gratitude to lifeboat volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were probably about 200 swimmers here all raising money for the RNLI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy aunt and uncle and my cousin, who all swam here today, were rescued earlier this year off Rathlin Island where there were two lifeboats called out to their assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Dublin, hundreds again flocked to the rocks at the ever popular Forty Foot at Sandycove.<\/p>\n
Swimmers, many wearing Santa hats, laughed off the shivers as they lined up to jump into the chilly waters.<\/p>\n
December 26 has also become a popular day for sea swims off the island of Ireland and more events are due to take place on both sides of the border on St Stephen\u2019s\/Boxing Day.<\/p>\n