More than 140 sailors from 46 nations will descend on Dún Laoghaire next week for the 2026 ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship, bringing Olympic and world champions to Dublin Bay for six days of racing.
The championship, hosted jointly by the National Yacht Club (NYC) and Royal St George Yacht Club (RStGYC), runs from 23–30 August, with racing beginning on Tuesday, 25 August.
It marks Ireland’s first Olympic-class sailing World Championship in 25 years and will be followed in September by the ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship.
Lynch Leads Six-Strong Irish Challenge
Ireland will field six sailors, headed by Irish Sailing Senior Team member Finn Lynch of the NYC, the 2021 ILCA 7 World Championship silver medallist.
Lynch is joined by Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht Club, Irish Sailing development athletes Fiachra McDonnell of the Royal Irish Yacht Club and Bobby Driscoll of Ballyholme Yacht Club, along with Tom Coulter of East Antrim Boat Club and Roger Craig of the RStGYC.
Both Lynch and McMahon have previous World Championship medal success on Dublin Bay.
Lynch won silver at the 2012 World Sailing Youth Championships before going on to take his senior world silver in Barcelona in 2021. McMahon took silver at the 2016 Laser Radial Youth World Championships in Dún Laoghaire.
Lynch comes into his home World Championship after seventh-place finishes at both the Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam and the ILCA European Championships.
McMahon has also recorded a series of top-20 international results this season.
Olympic Champions Head International Fleet
The Irish contingent faces a fleet headed by World No. 1 Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus and Australia’s double Olympic champion Matt Wearn.
Kontides, a two-time world champion and double Olympic silver medallist, was recently on Dublin Bay for the Coaches’ Invitational Regatta, where he finished second to Britain’s Elliot Hanson.
Wearn, Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, arrives after three Sailing Grand Slam victories during 2026. The Australian won the ILCA 7 world title in 2024.
The ILCA 7 is the single-handed dinghy used for the men’s Olympic competition, with sailors racing identical boats.
100 Volunteers Supporting Championship
Around 100 volunteers from Ireland and overseas will be involved in running the championship afloat and ashore.
Organising Committee chair Con Murphy said the two host clubs were ready for the arrival of the international fleet.
“The National Yacht Club and the Royal St George Yacht Club are ready to welcome the world’s top sailors to Dún Laoghaire,” Murphy said.
“With the latest race-start and course-setting technology in use on Dublin Bay, these championships will meet the highest international standards and demonstrate Ireland’s ability to deliver major sailing events at world-class level.”
The championship Medal Races will be livestreamed, with commentary from international sailor Maurice O’Connell and Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy.
The 2026 ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship runs from 23–30 August, with racing from 25–30 August.
It will be followed by the ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship from 5–12 September, completing three weeks of Olympic-class World Championship sailing in Dún Laoghaire.
