Northern Ireland welcomes in 2026 with Tots and Togs on New Year's Day
Hundreds of people have turned out to welcome the New Year in, with festive dips in the sea around the coast of Northern Ireland.
Despite temperatures dropping for a chilly New Year’s Day, several events took place ranging from larger scale charity fundraisers to smaller social groups.
There were a number of dips around Northern Ireland’s coastline, although some were cancelled on the morning because of concern over conditions.
However, a number went ahead including the traditional jumping into the harbour at Carnlough, Co Antrim.
As usual, the crowds turned out to see crazy antic of participants jumping into the freezing water in swimming costumes while striking funny poses for photographers.
As is tradition some also wore wacky fancy dress costumes for the day.
Smiling crowds also turned out to dip into the sea at Benone Beach near Limavady, which raised money for the Community Rescue Service.
Cancer Focus NI had been planning to have a fundraising dip at Crawfordsburn beach but sadly had to call it off .
"While we fully expect challenging winter conditions at this time of year, the latest forecasts are indicating incoming gale force winds and a strong tidal flow," they said on social media beforehand.
"After careful consideration and discussions around safety, it’s clear that these conditions would pose an unacceptable risk for participants and volunteers alike.
"Your safety must always come first, and unfortunately, with these factors combined, we simply can’t proceed as planned."
They added: "We know how disappointing this will be, especially for everyone who has been gearing up to start the New Year with a brave dip for such a worthwhile cause. We want to sincerely thank you for your fundraising efforts and enthusiasm so far, your support means so much to Cancer Focus NI and truly helps make a difference.
"We are already working to confirm a new date and will share further details with you as soon as they are finalised."
But before the brave swimmers had ventured out of their cosy beds, midwives and doctors across Northern Ireland were taking part in the annual friendly competition to see who was going to dliver the first New Year's Baby in NI.
Jennifer Clougherty, the Service Coordinator for the Royal maternity Hospital in Belfast said their team won this year - delivering theirs at only ten seconds past midnight.
"We had the first New Year's Baby, which was always a bit of competition with other hospitals in Northern Ireland," she told the News Letter.
"So we had a baby born 10 seconds after midnight - we won this year.”
“Everybody tends to know who was first as we have a computer system called Epic in all the hospitals. So it's very easy just to see when the first baby was born."
The winner was from Natasha Byers and Daniel Harken, with baby Rosie Lee Harken weighing in at 6lbs 1oz.
She noted that the Midwives had all swapped their normal blue tunics for a variety of alternatives with cheery Christmas themes.
After being down on the wards she reported back that they had delivered a total of five New Year's Day babies - and counting.
"The mums are very happy and the staff are very busy," she said.
"They were very happy to have their babies delivered at the New Year. As for the staff, they are so busy with mums having babies and being discharged."
While the midwives would like to be with their families on New Year's Day, it is a sacrifice they are willing to make for their patients. "That is their job - it's a 24 hour service that we provide, so it is just normal for us."
Blessing Ogbodo had her Baby girl, Zivah Ekuase, at 1:51am at 3.5lbs in the Royal.
"Everything went pretty well,” she told the News Letter. “She came a week early but she was perfect, she did not need any help with breating. So that's something to be grateful to God for."
"Obviously, I must give credit to the staff and at the Royal Victoria Hospital - they were exceptionally amazing, they went far beyond doing their job."