More than 180 women took part in a fundraising swim at Lissadell, Co Sligo, writes MARESE McDONAGH
THE GHOSTS of Constance and Eva Gore Booth must have smiled yesterday as they gazed across the lawns at Lissadell House in Co Sligo to see 180 naked women plunging into the cold Atlantic waters.
The location of the so-called “dip in the nip”, a novel fundraising exercise in aid of Action Breast Cancer, had been a closely guarded secret in a bid to spare the blushes of participants, many of whom clearly did not see themselves as “gazelles”, a description used by Yeats for one of his Lissadell pals. Those who gathered at the private beach on the estate for the daunting 9am wake-up call didn’t make it into the Guinness Book of Records, but according to organiser Maire Garvey, there was exhilaration among the dippers, who ranged in age from 17 to 70.
She said many of those taking part had themselves experienced breast cancer and it was a liberating experience for those with inhibitions about their bodies. “I saw quite a few scars in the water, but I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to be part of it all, when everyone spontaneously started to clap once they hit the water and you looked around at all these women, many wearing pink wigs and tiaras and ribbons cheering with delight.”
She insisted there was no disappointment at the failure to create a record. “It probably would have taken from the spontaneity trying to measure how far people were into the water and counting exact numbers.”
To make it into the Guinness book, 251 women would have had to be in the water, up to their waist, at the same time.
Ironically, while there were modest women who dropped their robes only at the last second before hitting the water, the fundraisers included Claire Tully, often described as the brainiest page three model in the world. “Claire’s mother had breast cancer, her grandmother and her aunt died from breast cancer, so we were delighted that she took part,” said Maire.
The proceeds have not yet been counted, but with more than 180 women raising an estimated average of €300, it seems likely a cheque for more than €50,000 will be handed over to the Irish Cancer Society.