Christmas swim celebrates milestone 25th anniversary

This year sees the 25th anniversary of the Christmas Day swim and organisers hope that more people will get involved to ‘mark the end of such a horrendous year by doing something special’.

The swim was originally started by Olympic swimmer Liam Ball in 1976, when just six people, including local woman Roisin Lynch, took part.

“For me that was the beginning of an annual Christmas pilgrimage to Ludden to fundraise for the Foyle Hospice which Len Ball, Liam’s father, then promoted,” Roisin explained.

However, after her son David was diagnosed with the rare form of eye cancer Retinablastoma in 1995, Roisin and her family began raising money for the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) through the Christmas Day swim.

“In March 1995, our only son David who was not quite two-years-old, was diagnosed with Retinablastoma, a rare form of eye cancer, and we were referred to St. Bart’s Hospital, London for treatment.

“Unfortunately, after many sessions of Chemotherapy and having a Hickman line inserted, David’s eye haemorrhaged and it was removed on December 5, 1995. David and I travelled to St. Bart’s on a regular basis for eye examinations and prosthetic eye fittings until he was seven,” Roisin added.

“During this distressing time , the help, support, reassurance and comfort afforded by all CHECT personnel was invaluable to our family during this crisis. Since then we have endeavoured to show our gratitude by helping to fund much needed research into this devastating disease.”

Over the years, the swimmers have helped to raise £35,000 for the charity by braving the icy waters.

“We want this quarter of a century milestone to be our biggest turn out yet,” Roising said. “Our loyal group of swimmers have supported us during all these years and they maintain the swim starts Christmas for their families and it wouldn’t be the same Christmas without it.

“It has become a real family event with many of the children of the first participants now also taking part in an atmosphere of happiness and friendship in spite of the weather. We have experienced all types of weather, rain, snow and ice, but it has yet to dampen the spirits.”

Roisin said she hopes the recent popularity of open water swimming, particularly during the Covid lockdowns, will help extra swimmers turn out this year.

“It will be an opportunity to mark the end of such a horrendous year by doing something special. It will therapeutic and cathartic to do something good.”

Roisin said that there is a real feel good factor to the swim and praised all those who have supported it over the years to help raise so much money for CHECT.

She also paid tribute to the past pupils of St. Cecilia’s, where Roisin was a teacher, who have raised over £1,000 this year for the charity.

Roisin’s son David, who is now a doctor working in a hospice in Glasgow, joins the fundraising swim every year and will be taking part in this year’s milestone event.