A DAY at the races or some early retail therapy are among the many options on offer to those feeling brave, bored or flush enough to step away from the fire side and out into the cold over the Christmas period.
More than 50,000 people are expected to attend the four-day Leopardstown Christmas Racing Festival, which gets under way on Saturday at 12.10pm, while thousands more will congregate at Limerick racecourse for the western city’s three-day equivalent.
Despite the frosty conditions of late, St Stephen’s Day meetings at both courses, as well as at Down Royal in Co Down, are expected to go ahead, with the turf said to be soft to yielding and set to be aided by a small temperature rise in the coming days.
For those who don’t fancy a flutter but still have money burning a hole in their pockets, many Christmas sales will get under way early this year.
In Dublin, Arnotts, Clerys and Brown Thomas are to break tradition and open their doors from 10am on St Stephen’s Day in a bid to generate extra sales in what has otherwise been a difficult year for retailers.
Elsewhere, the Ward Union Hunt, which is a target of Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s proposed stag-hunting ban, takes place atop the Hill of Crocafotha in Bellewstown, Co Meath, on St Stephen’s Day at 1pm.
Elsewhere on Saturday, about 1,000 people are expected in Carraigaline, Co Cork, for a meeting of South Union hunt at 11.30am. Large crowds are also expected to attend the Scarteen hunt meeting in Knockacarron, Co Limerick, at 11am.
“Celebrities, bankers and all sorts” are expected to attend the annual Wren Boys celebration in Sandymount, Co Dublin, on St Stephen’s Day. The festivities kick off in the Sandymount House at 11am with a poetry reading, which will be followed by performances on an outdoor gig rig by a host of singing and dancing acts.
“On a fine morning we’d be expecting to have 1,000,” said Wren Boy Tom Ahern. “We’re doing it in aid of the Knights of Malta maternity hospital in Bethlehem this year.”
On Christmas morning hundreds of swimmers in Co Galway will brave the cold in an attempt to set a new world record for the largest Christmas Day swim. Over 900 people participated in the event last year at Blackrock in Salthill, and an even larger crowd is expected to turn out to raise funds for the Cope homeless charity this year.
Big crowds are also expected to take the plunge at the 40ft in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, and at Inchydoney and Fountainstown in Co Cork.
Those looking for a bit of exercise before Christmas dinner, but not willing to take a dip, can take part in the 28th annual Goal Mile charity run, which takes place at 82 locations throughout the country.
The event raised €370,000 for life-saving projects in the developing world last year, and 10 new locations have been added this year.
More information is available at www.goal.ie
If you think an adrenaline rush is needed to get moving again after the Christmas lull, Funderland, with its rollercoaster and ferris wheel, opens at the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, from noon on St Stephen’s Day and runs into the New Year.
In Cork, the Blackrock Castle Observatory will open its doors for some post-Christmas workshops on Sunday, with shooting stars among the topics open to those young star-gazers in attendance.
