More than 5,000 Christmas meals given to Dublin homeless and low-income families

More than 5,000 homeless people and low-income families in Dublin received free Christmas dinners today.

The annual free-lunch gathering at the RDS saw 500 people sit down for a Christmas meal, with a further 5,000 benefitting from special takeaways.

The event, which is in its 99th year, was organised by the Knights of Columbanus.

Volunteers welcomed with open arms groups of men and women, young families and those who might have otherwise spent Christmas Day alone while chefs plated up dinner.

The chair of the organising committee, Trevor McNamara, said the event gives homeless people a meal they would not get otherwise.

"We make a little bit of extra effort once a year to make Christmas Day a little bit special," he told Newstalk radio.