Nuala Moore and Anne Marie Ward of Ireland are awaiting the arrival of Ram Barkai, founder of the International Ice Swimming Association, to Ireland.

Ram will sanction Nuala and Anne Marie’s New Year’s Eve ice swim in the Bloody Foreland as they aim for Port na Blath. For the swim to officially qualify as an ice swim, the water temperature must be lower than 5 degrees C for the entire mile swim as they swim in traditional swimwear with only one non-neoprene swim cap.

“I went into the lake at 6 degrees and it fairly blew me. It is going to be tough, but that’s the excitement,” said Nuala. “If we can’t get under the 5 degrees there, our plan B is Mulroy Bay and Wood Quarter [see above]. Air temperatures are happily down in the low digits, so the wind chill be will be a big obstacle in North Donegal.”

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