DIP IN THE NIP
THE North East ‘Dip in the Nip’, now in its 6th year, is proving to be the biggest single fundraiser for the Oncology Unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, bringing in over €45,000 this year.
Organised voluntarily by Karen Healy and Elizabeth Summersby, this year’s event saw a couple of hundred brave women run naked into freezing cold Irish sea to raise much needed funds for the Northeast Oncology & Haematology Unit.
The day started before dawn in the Westcourt Hotel with women from as far away as Derry and Belfast, and with ages ranging from 18 to 80, ready for a dip and they included a mix of mothers, daughters, sisters and friends, Some wore wigs and had their bodies adorned with all kinds of body art and there was even had a few mad unicorns.
The Westcourt Hotel very kindly greeted each of the dippers with a few glasses of complimentary Dutch courage, and then they all warmed up with some Zumba dancing under the instructions of Jenny and Banban from Integral, before they went on the buses to the secret beach location.
When they arrived at the beach the ladies headed straight down to spend time at the wishing tree they wrote a few notes for their loved ones and attached them to the branches, a wonderful sight to see everyone sharing stories, laughing and crying together. This fundrasier takes a lot of guts!
After the cold water dip and on the beach a most welcome hot food beagle bar breakfast was served to the now euphoric ladies.
There were a few special prizes for the best dressed and non dressed, Georgina Makenna and special pregnant lady Aoife Hickey, amongst the winners .
Back on the buses, the 257 women headed for some well earned hot coffee and scones in the Moorland Café but this year the numbers had doubled and the Westcourt hotel also offered the complimentary coffee and scones.
Great support came from the Coastguard, the Red Cross, lifeguards, The Department of Defence, The Westcourt Hotel, The Moorland Café, McCloskey ‘s Bakery, Gerry Kelly LMFM, Suzanne Collins, Integral Gym, Coca Cola Southgate, Gerry Carrol Coaches, Matthews buses, Michael Devine, Marie Sherlock, the NECRET Team, our registration ladies, Lisa Delany, Colette Cassidy, Annette Healy, Claudine Healy, Geraldine Killeen, Sinead Meehan, and Ann Reynolds, amongst others.
One of the dippers, Maureen Stanley, remarked, ‘I took part to give thanks for a recovery within our family. I was totally out of my comfort zone but once in the water, the energy was euphoric and contagious. There was a lot of encouragement both before and after the “dip” and a feeling of camaraderie and giddiness. Overall it was a great experience and I’m already working on 2018!’