As the majority of us reached for the first tin of Roses of the day on Christmas morning, hundreds across Galway were gearing up for a more active start to the yuletide celebrations.

Crowds thronged the coastlines in Salthill and Loughrea for the Christmas Day swims – a tradition that has become as much a part of the festive season as carol singing.

And elsewhere, hundreds more were limbering up at the start-line for a run with a purpose – no doubt building up an appetite for the afternoon feast that followed.

More than 800 people braved the cold in Salthill from early morning, taking part in the annual Christmas Day Swim in aid of COPE Galway at Blackrock Diving Tower.

Seasoned swimmers and toe-dippers all took the plunge into the icy cold waters for the 34th year of the event which raises money for COPE’s homeless, domestic abuse and older people services.

One swimmer taking part remarked that “while this has been a Christmas tradition in our family for many years, we also want to do something for people who are isolated or don’t feel safe this Christmas”.

Caption: Kathleen Finnegan, Annaghdown; Fiona Fahy, Salthill; Claire Kearns, Doughiska; Helena Conneely, Turloughmore, and Liadh Duane, Annaghdown, at Blackrock for their Christmas Day swim. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

Read the full story with two pages of photos in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.