A group of sea swimmers from Mourneview Caravan Park in Newcastle is set to publish a charity calendar to raise funds for the MND (Motor Neurone Disease) Association NI.
The ‘Mourneview Hotties’ were formed in 2022 and are made up of over 60 women who meet on weekends to go for sea dips at Murlough Beach. The majority of members own a caravan at the Mourneview site, but thanks to social media, the group has also recruited swimmers from the local area and from sea swimming groups across the country.
Featuring a different theme for each month, the calendar will showcase Newcastle and the surrounding area.
The Mourneview Hotties were formed by Brenda Doherty, whose mother Ruth was the first woman to die from Covid in Northern Ireland in 2020.
“My sister and I were getting into a bit of a rut after losing our mummy during Covid. My sister, myself and a friend of ours were having a conversation one night over a bottle of wine and we decided we would like to try cold water dipping. It all started from that and now there’s over 64 of us,” explained Brenda, who co-leads the NI Covid Bereaved Families for Justice and Memory Stones of Love memorial groups to remember all lives lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read the full story in the current issue of the Mourne Observer to find out why the group chose to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease.
