Almost 200 Marilyn Monroe lookalikes have made a splash by taking part in a themed charity swim at an Irish beach.

Sporting retro swimsuits and blond wigs, swimmers dressed as the film star took the plunge at Balcarrick beach in Donabate, County Dublin, for Marilyn’s Mater Paddle.

Sunday’s event, now in its second year, was organised to raise funds for women’s cancer care at Dublin’s Mater hospital. The goal was to generate funds to support the hospital in speeding up cancer diagnosis, enhancing treatments and providing world-class care to women from all over Ireland.

The director of development at the hospital’s foundation, Roisin Duffy, said: “The foundation focuses on four key areas: life-saving equipment, hospital redevelopment, research and innovation, and patient and family support. This can mean providing everything from smaller things like IV drips for cancer patients, or Dyson fans for cancer patients, to the more advanced use of state-of-the-art mammogram machines.”

Duffy added: “We are incredibly humbled by the sisterhood of Marilyns who gathered in Donabate this morning for women’s cancer care. Marilyn’s Mater Paddle may seem on the surface like just a fun, Hollywood-themed dip but it’s so much more. It’s a paddle with a purpose and every splash and every donation made is helping us support women on their cancer journey in the Mater hospital.”