Thousands of redheads are set to descend on the seaside village of Crosshaven in County Cork today.

The Irish Redhead Convention – now in its seventh year – takes place all weekend and features carrot tossing championships, ginger speed dating and seminars on the history of redheads.

The festival raises funds for the Irish Cancer Society – with flame haired people more susceptible to melanoma and other skin cancers.

Founder and event organiser is Joleen Cronin: “We’ve redheads coming from all over the country and all over the Globe, even as far as Hawaii and Australia, redheads are coming to descend upon our village.

“And we are expecting lots of fun things like the ginger jig, ginger speed-dating, a parade of red-heads, a big group photo and of course our most famous competition which is the most freckles per square inch.