#RNLI - Kilmore Quay RNLI volunteers had a Christmas Day call-out last week when a surfer got into difficulties just before 4pm.
The man had been surfing at the Burrow Shore off the Memorial Garden to the west of the Co Wexford lifeboat station when he drifted towards the rocky end of the beach, where it would have been dangerous for him to come ashore.
Weather conditions were good at the time, with a light north-westerly breeze with an on-shore swell, good visibility and overcast sky - so the lifeboat crew had no problems responding swiftly, taking the lifeboat’s Y-boat to recover the surfer and his board.
No medical assistance was required and the surfer and his board were landed safely back at the marina.
The Kilmore Quay surfer was just one of hundreds who took to the wintry waters around the coast as Christmas Day saw an array of special events nationwide, from surfing in Strandhill to swimming in Sandycove.
As the Irish Independent reports, locals at Banna Beach in Co Kerry were treated to the incredible sight of 300 people running into the freezing Atlantic in a charity challenge for the local sea rescue unit.
And in Dublin, the traditional Forty Foot plunge brought out its regular contingent of hardy souls.