Tradition of Christmas Day swim continues in Offaly town

THE long standing tradition of the annual Christmas Day swim continued in Banagher this Christmas.

The swim took place on a bright Christmas afternoon on the banks of the Shannon in the swimming pool in Banagher. It was a wonderful social event that brought a bit of festive cheer to the locals and visitors to Banagher that gathered on the Shannon banks to cheer on the volunteering swimmers.

The annual event was organised by Paul Looby and Antoinette Kelly in conjunction with the local group the ‘swimming women & others’, through the kind help of Miriam McCormack. Also taking part on the day were several friends of Paul and Antoinette who have been doing the swim for the past few years and without their support the event would not take place. They are very grateful for everyone that comes to participate in keeping the tradition alive in the town.

A large number of swimmers braved the icy water for a swim in the pool under safe observation from members of the Offaly Search and Recovery unit, Minnie Heffernan and Mick O'Rourke with Antoinette Kelly on the poolside. While overseeing the PA duties, Sean Corrigan provided a welcome cup of mulled wine and had festive tunes playing over the riverside which enhanced the experience for all.

Paul and Antoinette are delighted to announce that €670 was received from collection buckets that were dispersed around the gathered crowd to raise money to give towards the town's Christmas lights fund. Many thanks goes to all the swimmers and everyone that came out on the day and everyone that made the event a great success.

Next year's Christmas Day swim in Banagher promises to be another memorable event for the town.