Thousands of festive swimmers have taken the plunge at Christmas Day dips all over the island of Ireland. People take part in the annual Christmas swim in aid of the RNLI (Brian Lawless/PA)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. “Our annual Christmas swim has been going from the 70s and it has been getting bigger every year, with more and more participation,” he said. The Christmas swim is in aid of the RNLI (Brian Lawless/PA)“There were probably about 200 swimmers here all raising money for the RNLI,” she said. 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’s/Boxing Day.

Source: Irish Examiner December 25, 2018 14:15 UTC