Marble Hill and its dippers Make Waves for Palestine on Mother's Day

The organiser of the Make Waves for Palestine on Mother's Day in Marble Hill on Sunday said he was “overwhelmed.”

Paddy Browne, originally from Letterkenny and now living in Glen, outside Carrigart, ran the event on Sunday morning. It was planned to coincide with Mother’s Day, in solidarity with the people of Palestine as Israel continues its bombardment on Gaza, with the death toll now over 30,000.

Paddy is no stranger to the morning dips, with his social media channel The Viking Dippers - previously chronicling 365 successive days of sea dips. He often takes the plunge with his father-in-law Bobby Browne and friend Frank Power, with the trio arriving early at Marble Hill on Sunday.

Paddy Browne and Fadl Mustapha, Secretary of the Donegal IPSC, in Marble Hill on Sunday

“I was overwhelmed with the amount of people that turned up,” Paddy told DonegalLive. “ I got down there at the start and I thought it might be just me, Frank and Bobby! A great crowd turned up and they came and supported the mothers of Palestine together. It was beautiful. We all got into the water together in solidarity with Palestine. There was music and the [local roasted coffees and ice cream van] Shack were very good. Thanks to everyone!”

The Donegal IPSC (Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign) were in attendance, as were Amnesty Letterkenny. There are donation links available via Paddy’s Instagram page

“We’re going in for a dip in the sea for two minutes’ suffering, which is nothing in comparison to the suffering that’s going on in Palestine,” Paddy said before the event. “I picked Mother’s Day because it’s symbolic, there are lots of mothers and children getting slaughtered over there. I saw a passage saying ‘Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as you love yours’ and that resonated with me, so thought Mother’s Day would be a great day to do it.”