The Icy Plunge for Asthma will take place on 17 September 2026 at Sandymount Hotel, Dublin 4.
Ireland’s business community is being called on to brave the cold and raise vital funds to help children with asthma spend less time missing out and more time enjoying a full and active childhood.
The challenge, taking place on 17 September 2026 at Sandymount Hotel Dublin, brings together business professionals and their colleagues from across Ireland for a guided breathwork session with leading cold-therapy and breathwork instructor Níall Ó Murchú, preparing them for their plunge into an ice bath, taking place at Sandymount Hotel, which is the event’s Host Partner.
For one in ten children in Ireland, asthma can make difficulty breathing far more than a moment of discomfort: it can mean urgent treatment, a hospital visit and time away from school, sport and play. Plunging into the icy water offers participants a symbolic moment of solidarity with children with asthma and the families who support them.
Helping children with asthma enjoy healthier, fuller childhoods
Funds raised support the Asthma Society’s work to help children with asthma enjoy healthier, fuller childhoods. For 53 years, the Asthma Society has provided free specialist advice and support to families struggling to manage the condition effectively. Its work includes Ireland’s first Asthma Summer Camp, delivered with Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise, which combines clinical expertise with fun, age-appropriate activities to help children and families manage asthma without missing out on childhood.
Olympian and broadcaster Greg O’Shea, who led last year’s Icy Plunge alongside business professionals from Sprout & Co., Bord Gáis Energy, Chartered Accountants Ireland, Cornmarket and Vivisol, has had asthma since birth and understands the difference the right support can make.
Speaking at last year’s event, he said:
“Living with it in adulthood, I’ve come to learn that it doesn’t have to hold you back. 450,000 people in Ireland have asthma. I want to help the Asthma Society give them vital care to live with asthma, so it doesn’t have to hold them back.”
The Asthma Society of Ireland is now calling on companies of every size to get involved by entering individual business leaders, workplace teams or both.
Here is what teams taking the plunge could make possible:
- €100 could provide 250 families with a printed Asthma Action Plan to complete with their GP – an easy-to-follow guide to their child’s daily asthma medication and what to do when symptoms worsen
- €1000 could train five teachers to administer life-saving treatment and give first aid in an asthma emergency
- €10,000 could help deliver the annual Asthma Summer Camp for many children and parents, empowering families to manage asthma together.
Eilís Ní Chaithnía, CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland, said:
“The response to our first Icy Plunge was incredible and we cannot wait to see even more of Ireland’s business community take the plunge with us this year. The event is light in tone but serious in purpose. By taking part and raising much-needed funds, companies can help us empower children and their families to stay well with asthma and enjoy full, active childhoods. Demand for our free Asthma Adviceline grew by almost 50% last year, and we want to meet that growing need and expand our support for children and adults with asthma. We are calling on businesses of every size to join us: a few moments in the cold can create a lasting impact for children with asthma.”
Níall Ó Murchú, Wellness and Breathing Expert, said:
“I am delighted to be taking part again this year after such an incredible first plunge. Breathwork has been part of my own journey with asthma and guiding a group through their breathing before they face the cold is something special. There is real power in a team doing this together. You prepare together, you fundraise together and you take that leap together. It builds a bond and a sense of pride that stays with people long after the day itself. I would love to see as many businesses as possible sign up this year, bring their teams along and take on the challenge for children and families affected by asthma across Ireland.”
The Icy Plunge for Asthma will take place on 17 September 2026 at Sandymount Hotel, Dublin 4.
Registration is now open. Individual business professionals and corporate teams can sign up at icyplunge.asthma.ie.
To find out more about the Asthma Society of Ireland and its services, visit www.asthma.ie.
