Dunmurry Dippers complete one year of daily cold-water dunks in cancer fundraiser

A one-year long fundraiser has gone ‘swimmingly’ for a six-strong core group of men in Dunmurry, who are set to take the 365th plunge on Saturday December 3rd.

Peter Gilgunn started the fundraiser after his father Tom was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare form of bran cancer, in December 2021.

Mr Gilgunn sadly lost his battle with cancer in May 2022, but his son and dedicated cold-water comrades continued on the daily dip journey he started when his dad received the bad news.

The 365 consecutive dip challenge has raised £1,000 to date, and has gained international attention thanks to social media updates, and the participants have been joined by innumerable people who want to dive in with them, or just get a picture.

Swimwear brand Speedo allegedly spied the 7am swims and got in touch to offer a meeting.

Mr Gilgunn said he had not told his father about the charity drive during his illness but said dad Tom would have been proud of the club’s achievement. 

“My dad was a very measured, quietly spoken man but he would have seen it as a great thing to do. He was always in favour of putting yourself out there and giving things a go,” he said. 

“I was determined to raise awareness of this terrible disease and hopefully encourage more funding into finding a cure,” he added.  

The club will be holding a special celebration event at Colin River at 9am on December 3 and have invited other members of the cold-water swimming community to join them.

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