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The Gannon Cup Committee have announced the arrangements for the 2014 Dublin University Boat Races between Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. The Colours rowing races will this year take place on Sunday,  March 16th, in association with the official St Patrick’s Festival. The races  will be contested on  the River Liffey from O’Connell Bridge to St James’ Gate Brewery. The senior men's race (The Gannon Cup) is set for 11 o'clock and  the senior women's race (Corcoran Cup) 10.30. The programme will commence at 9:30am with the novice women racing for the Sally Moorhead Trophy, followed by the novice men’s race for the Dan Quinn Shield at 10am.
A winter of extreme weather conditions has led to the cancellation of the majority of Rowing Ireland events, making it hard to predict the outcome of what promises to be a very exciting series of races.
 For Susannah Cass, who will row in the seven seat of Trinity's Corcoran Cup crew, this is just the first test in a summer of rowing adventures. Susannah will be racing across the Irish Sea in the Celtic Challenge race in May, before competing in the world’s first Pacific Ocean rowing race – a 2,400 mile challenge from California to Hawaii. Meanwhile, in the UCD crew, the Gilligan sisters will be hoping to keep the Corcoran Cup in the family, as Aoife enlists her sister Ruth’s help in defending the title.
 The senior men's race will have its 66th staging on Sunday. The Gannon Cup was founded in 1947 in memory of former UCD captain Ciarán Gannon, who lost his life serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Burma in 1944. There were no races in 1957 and 1958. UCD have dominated the event in recent years and will be hoping to make this their 7th consecutive win with the help of a strong crew of promising young athletes including World Under-23 silver medallist Niall Kenny. Trinity hope the return of coach Nick Dunlop, whose record includes a number of convincing Gannon Cup wins, turns the UCD tide.
Trinity won the coin toss hosted at Leinster House by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. They chose to race on the north station in both the men’s and women’s races.
The university boat races are an annual event on the River Liffey echoing the world famous Oxford/Cambridge University Boat Race in London. In 1980 Trinity were presented with the Corcoran Cup as winners of the inaugural women’s boat race; however, UCD responded strongly to this initial defeat and currently lead the series by 21 wins to Trinity’s 13. Races for novice men and women were introduced in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

Spectator buses will follow the races and depart from the O’Connell Bridge.
Program of events:
9:30am The Moorhead Trophy – Novice Women (holder Trinity)
10:00am The Dan Quinn Perpetual Shield – Novice Men (holder UCD)
10:30am The Corcoran Cup – Senior Women (holder UCD)
11:00am The Gannon Cup – Senior Men (holder UCD)

Published in Rowing

#teamracing – On the 20th-22nd of February, the Irish University Sailing Association Inter-Varsities Championships took place in Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club. 25 teams from 9 colleges around the country, including 2 teams from Scotland competed for the annual trophy. The team racing took place in Firefly dinghies, with 3 on 3 racing. After a day of racing in random pools, the teams were separated into Gold Silver and Bronze fleets for the second day. Round robins took place on the Friday to decide on the layout of the finals on Saturday.
Early favourites of UL (last year's winners), UCC, Trinity and UCD made the quarter finals, but unfortunately Trinity and UL didn't make it past this stage.UCD1 met UCD3 in the quarter-finals on Saturday, and while UCD's third team put up a good fight against the eventual champions, they lost 2-0 in a best of 3 round. UCD 2 met a very strong UCC2 team, and the Cork side emerged victors, advancing to the semis to face their newest enemies UCC1. TCD met the Scottish representatives SUSA in their quarter final, and in close racing the Scots came out on top. Last year's winners UL faced UCC1 in their quarter-final, but couldn't get past the very strong Cork side.
UCD1 went on to face SUSA in their semi, while a Cork showdown happened in the other half of the draw with UCC 1 and UCC 2. UCD1 won their races 2-0, but the Cork battle was a much more intense affair, with Cork's first team winning 2-1.
The best of 5 final was raced in gusty conditions with storm sails up, and sailors at maximum hike for all the beats. The balcony on the clubhouse facing the racing was split, half UCD and the other UCC, each side shouting for their team. The first race went to UCD in a 1, 2 formation. The second race went to UCC winning with a 1, 2, 6. The third race brought great excitement for the spectators gathered on land with a UCC boat capsizing on the starting line, letting UCD get into a winning formation by the first mark. UCD's lead was strengthened by another UCC boat capsizing on the downwind leg. UCC had a boat in first but he was unable to help his team-mates recover the ground they had lost. The score was 2-1 to UCD. In the 4th race UCC had a good start, and kept a winning combination for the duration of the race, setting up a winner-takes-all final race. Race 5 brought a big lead for UCD as they took first place at the first mark and extended the race. They held this lead while UCC tried to break apart the winning combination around the course. Simon of UCD held his 3rd place and Philip pulled a UCC boat back with him, leaving the fleet spread out on the final leg. Simon kept his 3rd place, and with Conor's 1st, this was enough to crown UCD1 winners of the 2014 Varsities. It was Simon's 4th Varsities final, and younger brother Philip's first, a fitting passing of the torch.

varsitiesucd1

The winning UCD team celebrate their Varsity title

The winning UCD team was Simon Doran & Jen Dolan, Philip Doran & Bella Morehead and Conor Murphy & Eimear McIvor. UCC2 won their petite final to come 3rd, a very strong finish for UCC in 2nd and 3rd place. SUSA 2 were Silver fleet champions, beating UCD 4 in their close final. Bronze fleet glory went to TCD 2. The college team racing circuit is one of the most active and competitive groups in the country, with many of Ireland's top student sailors representing their colleges there.
The college team racing circuit is now finished for the year, with the exception of the annual Colours races between UCD and Trinity which will be held in April. The students now look to the Student Yachting Nationals over the next few weeks, the winners of which will qualify to represent Ireland at the Student Yachting World Cup in France next Autumn.

Published in Team Racing

#RowingHenley: UCD’s Temple Cup eight and Trinity’s coxed four in the Prince Albert Cup were both beaten at Henley Royal Regatta today. Trinity gained the lead in their race against Isis and held them off manfully until the enclosures, when Isis pushed and gained control before the finish. UCD were less competitive against the bigger crew from St Petersburg in Russia, who were a stone heavier per man. The pattern of the race was established early as the Russians took the lead by the end of the Island. They had a commanding lead by Fawley and won by four lengths.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Two (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eights, Student): St Petersburg University, Russia bt University College, Dublin 2 ½ l 6:51

Prince Albert (Coxed Fours, Student): Isis Boat Club bt Trinity College, Dublin 1 ¼ l, 7:27

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#UNIVERSITY ROWING: UCD took the Wylie Cup for men and the Bank of Ireland Cup for women at the rescheduled Irish University Championships at Blessington Lakes tonight. Trinity won the novice eight categories for both women and men, but UCD won both intermediate and senior eights races. In senior men’s eights, NUIG took second, while UCD vanquished their only rivals, Trinity, in the women’s senior eights.

The weather had forced the postponement of the Championships originally and winds were again a factor tonight, with all but these six races stripped from the programme.    

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: UCD produced an exact repeat of last year in the Colours Races on the Liffey today by winning the senior men’s and women’s events and also taking the novice men’s race. Trinity again won the women’s novice eights race with a dominant performance.

The senior men’s race was won in the first 20 metres: UCD’s big crew gained a crucial advantage and exploited it so competently that they had the race in the bag by the Four Courts. The win gave Dave Neale a record sixth Gannon Cup crown.

The UCD senior women also started well and established a good lead, but Trinity nipped away at them down the course and lost by only a half length.

The men’s novice eight race ended before the line, as Trinity crashed into the wall after Watling Street Bridge due to a snapped steering line. UCD had taken the furthest south arch in Winetavern Street bridge, prompting a Trinity objection, but the race umpire said that he had told the crew to avoid the marked centre lane due to a possible hindrance there.

Colours Races 2013

Men – Eight, Senior (Gannon Cup): UCD (L McCarthy, M Bailey, P Moore, A Sheehan, D Neale, J Nihotte, G Duane, P Grogan; cox: K Joyce) bt Trinity 4l

Eight, Novice (Dan Quinn Shield): UCD bt Trinity not rowed out

Women – Eight, Senior (Corcoran Cup) UCD (A O’Riordan, K Joy, O Finnegan, S Bennett, C Ni Reachtagain, G Collins, A Gilligan, B Lait; cox C McGowan) bt Trinity ½ l

Eight, Novice (Sally Moorhead Trophy): Trinity bt UCD easily.

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Galway and Dublin crews dominated the rankings at the Carrick-on-Shannon Head of the River yesterday. Trinity’s senior eight won the second head in 11 minutes 45.3 seconds, and their senior quadruple held off NUIG’s senior four for second.

101 Dublin University BC mens Senior 8+25:47.237:32.4 11:45.3
102 Dublin University BC mens senior 4X-26:15.438:47.0 12:31.6
103 NUI Galway BC mens senior 4-26:38.939:12.2 12:33.3
105 Colaiste Iognaid RC mens J18A 8+27:34.640:20.9 12:46.3
111 Dublin University BC Bmens novice 8+30:08.242:57.3 12:49.1
108 Dublin University BC mens novice 8+28:52.841:46.8 12:54.0
112 NUI Galway BC mens intermediate 4+30:41.143:51.8 13:10.6
114 NUI Galway BC Bmens intermediate 4+31:34.444:49.4 13:15.0
104 St. Josephs College RC mens J18A 8+26:04.239:22.3 13:18.1
107 Commercial RC mens J18A 4X-28:24.441:47.0 13:22.6
113 Dublin University BC mens intermediate 4+31:09.644:37.7 13:28.1
120 NUI Galway BC womens intermediate 8+35:46.549:41.3 13:54.8
106 Colaiste Iognaid RC mens J18A 4X-28:06.242:06.7 14:00.6
132 Commercial RC Cmens masters 4+36:47.551:03.0time only14:15.5
119 Commercial RC womens intermediate 8+35:10.049:27.6 14:17.6
130 Carrick-on-Shannon RC mens novice 4X+41:58.856:28.6 14:29.8
129 Dublin University BC mens novice 4X+41:43.956:24.4 14:40.6
117 Commercial RC Bmens intermediate 2X33:42.548:43.0 15:00.4
137 Athlone BC B (Munnelly)mens J18A 1X44:26.759:30.8 15:04.1
42 NUI Galway BC (Egan)mens intermediate 1X37:15.352:19.6time only15:04.2
116 Commercial RC mens intermediate 2X33:17.448:23.3 15:05.9
110 St. Josephs College RC mens novice 8+29:37.844:55.3 15:17.5
138 Carrick-on-Shannon RC (Griffin)mens novice 1X45:00.600:18.6 15:18.0
136 Commercial RC (Yeomans)mens J18A 1X43:53.459:12.5 15:19.1
148 Commercial RC mens J16 2X48:59.604:31.1 15:31.5
149 Carrick-on-Shannon RC mens J16 2X49:24.104:57.2 15:33.1
133 Commercial RC B (Gleeson)mens senior 1X42:43.558:19.4 15:35.9
131 Sligo RC mens novice 4X+42:28.458:05.7 15:37.3
123 Athlone BC mens J15 8+37:41.553:23.7 15:42.2
126 Carrick-on-Shannon RC womens J18A 2X39:47.055:32.9 15:45.9
125 Commercial RC womens J18A 2X39:29.055:15.4 15:46.4
115 St. Josephs College RC mens J18 2X32:28.548:17.6time only15:49.1
151 Sligo RC mens Novice 1X50:31.906:25.7 15:53.7
134 Athlone BC A (Egan) mens J18A 1X43:11.959:22.0 16:10.1
154 NUI Galway BC A (Hurst) womens intermediate 1X52:23.908:36.3 16:12.4
150 Colaiste Iognaid RC mens J16 2X50:06.106:24.1 16:18.1
169 Commercial RC B (Baskerville)mens J15 1X59:53.816:16.5 16:22.7
155 Commercial RC A (Foley) womens intermediate 1X52:56.209:21.8 16:25.6
147City of Derry (Durso) (e)mens masters 1X48:28.504:55.014:47.516:26.5
143 Colaiste Iognaid RC womens J16 4X+46:47.103:17.8 16:30.7
167 Commercial RC A (Beggan) mens J15 1X59:26.116:02.0 16:35.8
146 Belfast BC (Lockwood) (f 61)mens masters 1X47:57.004:37.114:25.016:40.0
144 Sligo RC womens J16 4X+47:18.004:01.8 16:43.8
174 Commercial RC (Rooney)womens J16 1X02:12.819:01.0 16:48.2
71Commercial RC C (Keogh)mens J161X00:37.717:26.1time only16:48.4
157 NUI Galway BC B (Keogh)womens intermediate 1X53:26.310:14.7 16:48.4
142 Carrick-on-Shannon RC womens J16 4X+46:09.903:01.1 16:51.2
164 Garda Siochana BC Bwomens novice 4+56:48.713:40.6 16:51.9
173 Commercial RC E (Phelan)mens J15 1X01:38.018:40.9 17:02.9
162 Commercial RC womens novice 4+56:09.813:12.9 17:03.1
160 Athlone BC womens J15 4X+54:42.211:46.4 17:04.2
121 Lady Victoria BC (e 234)mens masters 4+36:24.553:42.715:59.217:18.2
170 Commercial RC C (Beggan)mens J15 1X00:00.917:36.0 17:35.1
176 Athlone BC womens J14 4X+03:01.520:44.6 17:43.1
127 Colaiste Iognaid RC womens J18A 2X40:28.158:28.7 18:00.6
152 Commercial RC womens J18A 2-51:15.009:28.3 18:13.3
118 Dublin University BC mens intermediate 2X34:17.352:33.6 18:16.4
153 Commercial RC Bwomens J18A 2-51:48.010:13.6 18:25.6
172 Commercial RC D (Byrne)mens J15 1X01:11.919:46.5 18:34.6
141 Sligo RC (Patterson)mens j16 2X45:53.904:30.4 18:36.5
166 NUI Galway BC Bwomens novice 4+58:53.517:47.1 18:53.6
124 St. Josephs College RC mens J15 8+39:02.457:57.2 18:54.8
158 Belfast BC (Lockwood)womens intermediate 1X53:57.413:02.7 19:05.3
161 Sligo RC womens J15 4X+55:26.614:33.6 19:07.0
128 Commercial RC Bwomens J18A 2X40:54.200:34.8 19:40.6
165 NUI Galway BC womens novice 4+58:01.019:16.8 21:15.9
175Commercial (Rooneywomens J16 1X02:37.925:06.0 22:28.2
Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Trinity’s intermediate eight were the fastest crew in the first head at the Carrick-on-Shannon Head of the River today. They had almost eight seconds to spare over the second-placed NUIG intermediate eight.

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON HEAD, SATURDAY
1 Dublin University BC mens intermediate 8+12:48.624:23.5 11:34.9 
2 NUI Galway BC mens intermediate 8+13:12.924:55.6 11:42.7 
6 St. Josephs College RC mens intermediate 8+15:21.527:25.4 12:03.9 
5 Dublin University BC Cmens intermediate 8+15:01.927:36.6 12:34.7 
26 Bann RC mens J16 8+28:55.441:38.9 12:43.5
3 NUI Galway BC mens senior 4-13:42.026:31.0 12:48.9
7 Dublin University BC Dmens intermediate 8+16:05.129:00.2 12:55.1
27 Colaiste Iognaid RC mens J16 8+29:42.042:49.6 13:07.6
4 Dublin University BC mens senior 4-14:04.927:25.8 13:21.0
38 Commercial RC mens J16 4X+36:05.549:31.5 13:25.9
12 Athlone BC - Athlone BC/City of Derry BC (e 457)mens masters 8+19:13.732:43.012:16.313:29.3
30 NUI Galway BC mens novice 4+31:49.245:34.0 13:44.8
9 Colaiste Iognaid RC mens J18A 4+18:10.432:00.8 13:50.4
28 St. Josephs College RC mens J16 8+30:15.944:10.4 13:54.5
13 Lady Victoria BC (f 486)mens masters 8+19:37.133:56.412:40.314:19.3
25 Athlone BC mens J16 8+28:21.242:45.2 14:24.0
15 Athlone BC mens J18A 2X20:52.735:21.2 14:28.4
18 Bann RC mens senior 2-23:16.737:45.3 14:28.6
31 Dublin University BC mens novice 4+32:30.447:03.8 14:33.3
14 Commercial RC mens J18A 2X20:15.234:49.5 14:34.3
34 Commercial RC womens intermediate 4+34:09.048:49.7 14:40.8 
37 NUI Galway BC womens intermediate 2X35:34.450:19.8 14:45.4 
52 Dublin University BC B (Jacques)mens intermediate 1X42:14.757:01.3 14:46.6 
51 Commercial RC B (Yeomans)mens intermediate 1X41:36.156:26.6 14:50.6 
56 Dublin University BC D (Acheson)mens intermediate 1X43:46.958:38.8 14:51.9 
50 Three Castles Rowing Club (Corcoran)mens intermediate 1X41:08.156:00.3 14:52.3 
33 NUI Galway BC womens intermediate 4+33:39.648:37.1 14:57.5 
20 Commercial RC mens senior 2-24:16.039:15.8 14:59.8 
21 Commercial RC Bmens senior 2-24:53.539:55.7 15:02.2 
58 Dublin University BC E (Hughes)mens intermediate 1X44:33.159:45.7 15:12.6 
32 NUI Galway BC Bmens novice 4+33:13.248:27.9 15:14.7Boat tipped
35 NUI Galway BC Bwomens intermediate 4+34:36.449:53.0 15:16.7 
44 Carrick-on-Shannon RC B (Leyden)mens intermediate 1X38:49.854:10.9 15:21.1 
23 Commercial RC womens J18A 4X-26:08.041:30.8 15:22.7 
77 Commercial RC mens J15 2X51:02.906:30.0 15:27.1 
16 Colaiste Iognaid RC mens J18A 2X21:39.637:10.8 15:31.2 
48 Carrick-on-Shannon RC A (Cox) mens intermediate 1X40:10.555:41.7 15:31.2 
8 St. Josephs College RC mens J18A 2X22:16.137:47.7 15:31.7 
17 Commercial RC Bmens J18A 2X22:57.138:33.6 15:36.5 
40 Commercial RC womens novice 8+37:21.352:59.1 15:37.9 
22 Colaiste Iognaid RC womens J18A 4X-25:20.740:59.1 15:38.4 
39 Sligo RC mens J16 4X+36:41.852:27.7 15:45.9 
55 Commercial RC D (Carroll)mens intermediate 1X43:21.859:11.5 15:49.7 
64 Carrick-on-Shannon RC (Carthy)mens J18A 1x46:25.902:15.6 15:49.7 
47 Bann RC (Whoriskey)mens intermediate 1X39:40.955:32.9 15:52.0 
60 Dublin University BC G (Pounch)mens intermediate 1X45:21.901:22.1 16:00.2 
61 Athlone BC mens J15 4X+45:54.201:55.7 16:01.5 
75 Lagan Scullers Club B (b 79)mens masters 2X50:09.506:11.915:54.316:02.3 
24 Athlone BC womens J18A 4X-26:49.342:55.3 16:06.0 
122 St. Michaels Rowing Club (e 230)mens masters 4+27:18.743:32.714:55.016:14.0 
72 Carrick-on-Shannon RC womens J16 2X48:51.805:08.8 16:17.0 
57 Commercial RC E (D'Estelle-Roe)mens intermediate 1X44:08.000:28.9 16:20.9 
59 Dublin University BC F (Mc Cormick)mens intermediate 1X44:55.201:17.7 16:22.4
67 Carrick-on-Shannon RC A (Hartigan) mens J16 1X47:39.004:08.7 16:29.7
41 NUI Galway BC womens novice 8+38:10.754:55.3 16:44.6
73 Colaiste Iognaid RC womens J16 2X49:12.405:57.6 16:45.2
65 Carrick-on-Shannon RC (Kelly)womens J18A 1X46:49.803:43.0 16:53.3
29 St. Josephs College RC Bmens J16 8+31:08.348:14.5 17:06.2
49 Belfast BC (Lockwood)mens intermediate 1X40:35.157:46.3 17:11.2
46 Athlone BC (Molloy)mens intermediate 1X39:16.456:40.8 17:24.4
177 Athlone BC womens J15 2X53:03.310:48.0 17:44.7
69 Commercial RC B (O Rourke)mens J16 1X48:06.505:57.1 17:50.6
74 Sligo RC womens J16 2X49:42.707:36.6 17:53.8
54 Dublin University BC C (Dolan)mens intermediate 1X43:04.701:10.7 18:06.0
70 Carrick-on-Shannon RC B (Jordan)mens J16 1X48:27.406:45.8 18:18.4
76 Lagan Scullers Club A - Belfast RC/Lagan Scullers Club (h 146)mens masters 2X50:39.509:00.614:55.118:21.1
66 Commercial RC A (Byrne) mens J16 1X47:21.005:46.9 18:25.9
10 Dublin University BC mens senior 2X18:21.237:01.2 18:40.0
163 Garda Siochana BC womens novice 4+52:42.611:23.0 18:40.4 
80 Belfast BC (Lockwood) (f 62)womens masters 1X51:53.410:52.116:34.718:58.7Time Only
78 Carrick-on-Shannon RC (Brogan)womens J15 1X51:27.110:44.8 19:17.7
Published in Rowing

UCD beat Trinity by four and a half lengths in the Gannon Rowing Cup for senior men on the river Liffey in Dublin yesterday. It was their fourth consecutive Gannon and it headed up a clean sweep of colours titles in the new St Patrick’s Day slot. The Corcoran Cup for senior women was a close race, with UCD winning by three-quarters of a length, but Trinity’s novice women and novice men were well beaten.

Colours Races, River Liffey, Dublin

Gannon Cup (Senior Men): UCD (C Pierce, R Murray, S O’Neill, D Neal, F Manning, S Jacob, G Duane, P Grogan; cox: J Lynch) bt Trinity 4½l. Dan Quinn Shield (Novice): UCD bt Trinity 4l.

Corcoran Cup (Senior Women): UCD (C Tanner, K Joy, C Ni Reachtagain, A Bulman, S Bennett, A Gilligan, L Reid, B Lait; cox: C McGowan) bt Trinity ¾l. Moorhead Trophy (Novice Women): UCD bt Trinity 5l.

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Published in Rowing
Page 9 of 9

Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

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