It’s just after 8am at Low Rock Beach in Malahide, north Co Dublin, and a group of people are setting up plastic chairs. There are bags filled with towels, swimming hats and wetsuit booties on the ground, as they begin to strip down to their swimming togs, in preparation for their morning dip.
“It’s soul food,” Mary Lennon says enthusiastically, when asked why she’s braving the cold on this brisk September morning.
She and her partner, Ken Lynam, try to swim a few times a week. The first year they started, before Covid-19, they thought it would just be during the summer.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to do it. I went month by month. I said I’d go up to Christmas and that would be an achievement. And then it was like, maybe I’ll do January. And in fact, that year, March was the worst because it just felt like this was never going to get any warmer,” she laughs.
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The couple are among a growing number of people who are opting for a morning or weekly sea swim as part of their routine. And since the pandemic, more people are opting to keep it up outside of the summer months.
Kevin Tracy (76) goes every day. During the summer, he could stay in the water for 20 or 30 minutes. As we move into the winter season, however, it’s much shorter.
“A lot of people would say they would rather see it cold rather than during the height of summer,” he says.
“You see the sun coming up every morning on the east, rising there, and you see the people. When they come back, they’re full of vitality and rigour. They’re bouncing around and they’re almost talking too much.”
[ How and why to sea swim: walk in slowly wetting your shoulders, if you likeOpens in new window ]
The mental benefit is something to which Liz Taylor also attests. Who needs an alarm clock when you’ve cold waves to really wake you up, she says.
“It’s a routine. I used to play tennis but I injured my back so now I do this.
“If it’s rough, we wouldn’t get in because those rocks are dangerous. So the waves are coming in, you could get knocked up on those rocks. Sometimes you know from looking at the winds that it’s not going to be suitable. I swim with a group, so usually a crowd of us go out together.”
The camaraderie between the group is clear, with Connie Dottino, a 51-year-old from Argentina, saying sea swimming has helped her “integrate into the community”.
It is also, she says, an excellent way to kick-start the day, feeling more relaxed both physically and mentally.
A 2023 study published in the Official Journal of the Irish Medical Organisation found cold water therapy has been shown to have physiological effects across all the big systems, improving immunity, metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological health.
The physical benefit is one of the main reasons why 66-year-old Liam Kennedy hits the waves every day. He has been involved in sport since he was a child, playing rugby and captaining the Irish athletics team in 1980.
“I come [to the beach] every day because I train every day, it fits into my schedule. I do running or weights and then I come down for a dip,” he says. “After a hard session then, the cold water gets rid of all that lactic acid.”
[ The addictive magic of swimming in the sea in winter: 'It’s life affirming'Opens in new window ]
There are many positives to outdoor sea-swimming. But 2024 research conducted by UCD’s Environmental Research Institute, on behalf of the Department of Housing, states cold-water swimming outside of the summer period can present “significant health and safety risks which many bathers may not be fully aware of”.
It highlights the risks of contracting waterborne diseases in particular, stating that after heavy rain there is a “greater inflow of faecal contaminants from surrounding catchments and often sudden decline in receiving water quality.”
The official bathing season runs annually from June 1st to September 15th, during which period the local authorities and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitor water quality. Outside of this, however, there is largely no testing of water quality.
Karin Dubsky, co-founder of Coast Watch and a marine ecologist, says during the winter there is too much rain for sewerage plants to cope, which results in increased pathogens in the water.
“If you’re in calm weather, you have your head above the water, that’s one thing. But if you’re in rougher weather, which what happens during the winter, you get splashes of water into your eyes, your ears, your mouth,” she says.
“You’ll ingest small amounts of bacteria and viruses and they’ll go into your tummy where they’ll feel totally at home to reproduce and make you sick. You know, diarrhoea or an upset stomach.”
Malahide swimmer Ken McCarthy knows all about it.
“I’m on antibiotics now for that. In autumn, a lot of sea swimmers get a bug, you know Delhi belly kind of thing. You could get it about twice a year. But it’s about being unlucky if you get it,” he says. “But it’s definitely getting worse. Definitely getting worse.”
Catching a disease isn’t the only potential consequence of sea swimming; there are also risks associated with the colder, rougher conditions.
Anything below 15 degrees is defined as cold water, which can seriously affect your breathing and movement, according to the RNLI.
Dr Eamonn O’Shea, the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) lead for cardiovascular disease, says there is an “inherent risk” that people may not be aware.
“From now until next July, water is cold enough to bring on cold water shock. And what happens is you hyperventilate, your blood pressure goes up, your heart rate goes up. Even if they’re very fit and healthy, that shock can cause heart problems, including cardiac arrest,” he says.
“That’s only a small minority of people now, and it would mostly be someone who has fallen in unexpectedly or someone who is not adequately prepared for it. It’s important to acclimatise the body.”
Maureen McCoy, an award-winning long-distance open water swimmer, coach and author, says the after-swim coffee and cake is about socialising, but it’s also necessary to warm up during the winter months.
“You have to protect yourself after. You should have extra layers, somewhere to keep the towel dry, particularly if it’s a rainy day,” she says.
“The hot drinks are warming up the body from the inside out, which is so important. Even getting your hands around a warm cup. Eating too can generate more warmth in the core area. That’s why you see so many swimmers having cake and coffee after a dip.”
She and her partner Paul McCambridge, a photographer, swimmer and coach, have released two books on wild swimming in Ireland. It’s something they’re passionate about, but Ms McCoy says there have been some “concerning trends” post-pandemic.
“We’ve seen an awful lot of people challenging how low can you go. As in how low temperatures can the person put up with. That is something I would caution against; it leads to real problems,” she says.
“When you experience cold shock, you lose muscle strength and function. After a certain amount of time – and that is very individual – people then can’t really swim. It’s called swim incapacitation. The result of that can be quite tragic.”
Joanne Walsh, chief executive of Water Safety Ireland, says another issue is that outside of bathing season, there are no lifeguards who can help if someone gets into difficulty.
“You should swim in an area that is known to be safe. Swim with a friend. Check the tides. Check the currents. And just because the light isn’t as good as it would be during the summer season, you should wear a brightly coloured swim hat or brightly coloured togs,” she says.
But the group in Malahide believe it’s all about being aware of safety issues and ensuring they’re not taking any unnecessary risks. A member of their group puts up the water temperature on a board in the changing rooms everyday, so people know exactly what they’re getting into.
“The sea is always in charge,” says Anne O’Sullivan, one of the group. “Because we all know it so well, we know whether we can go in or not go in. We generally go in together and just stay safe.”
