local

€100,000 target for Dip in the Nip

Last Sunday (24 June) saw the fourth annual Dip in the Nip take place in Sligo, while there were three new Dips in other parts of the country - Clare, Cork and Meath.

Each Dip is supporting a local charity, which in Sligo's case is the Oncology Unit in Sligo General Hospital. There were 250 Dippers, male and female, at the Sligo Dip.

The Meath number was just under 140, Cork had 110, and Clare had nearly 70 Dippers.

Organiser Máire Garvey told SligoToday.ie that she was hopeful that they would meet the target of €100,000, which will be divided between the four local charities and a new Scalp Cooler Fund established last year by the Dip in the Nip.

Scalp coolers are pieces of equipment that minimise or prevent hair loss in chemotherapy patients, and the Dip in the Nip purchased it's first one for the Oncology Unit in Sligo General Hospital.

This year also saw the introduction of Wishing Trees, where Dippers were invited to share their reason for doing the Dip in the Nip.

This proved to be very popular at all of the Dips, and Máire described reading the dedications afterwards like reading prayers to heaven. The trees were left on the beach for others to read.