Belfast s Black Santa sit-out gets underway on Monday belfastlive.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from belfastlive.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Covid-19 isn t going to stop the Dean of St Anne s from completing the traditional Black Santa vigil on the steps of the cathedral in the heart of Belfast.
And yesterday morning the Very Rev Stephen Forde took up residence for the annual charity campaign which will continue until Christmas Eve.
Dean Forde is Belfast s fifth Black Santa - the tradition was started by Dean Sammy Crooks in 1976 and maintained by deans Jack Shearer, Houston McKelvey and John Mann.
This year is particularly challenging as the pandemic restrictions mean footfall in Donegall Street, where Black Santa stands daily with his barrel, will be dramatically reduced.