Ireland’s Eve McMahon and Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy are among 108 sailors from 44 countries preparing to start racing in the 2026 ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship on Dublin Bay on Monday (September 7th).
The championship was officially opened in Dún Laoghaire on Sunday following two days of registration and equipment inspection, with racing continuing until Saturday, September 12th.
For Ireland, attention will focus particularly on McMahon, who returns to the championship as the 2025 bronze medallist, while Murphy’s appearance marks a notable return to top-level international competition ten years after winning Olympic silver in Rio.
Murphy Returns to the World Stage
Back on the Bay: Annalise Murphy is back in an ILCA 6 on her home waters as the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist prepares for her first World Championship campaign since returning to the class. Photo: Jordan Roberts
Murphy, who returned to ILCA racing this summer and won the Irish National Championship on Dublin Bay, completed Sunday’s practice race having had remarkably little preparation in the boat.
“I just went out and did the practice race, so the first upwind of that race was actually my first time taking the boat out and trying to get it all organised,” Murphy said.
The National Yacht Club sailor, who became a mother eight months ago, said she was looking forward to discovering how she measures up against a fleet largely focused on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.
“I’m very aware of the standard of the fleet — everyone’s full-time, at such a high level. All these girls are aiming for the LA Olympics, and that’s not on my horizon,” she said.
“My goal is to try and have a few good races — if I can make it into the Gold Fleet, I’d be delighted. But I won’t really know until I actually line up at the start and see how I’m going against the best in the world.”
For Murphy, the championship also offers the chance to rewrite the ending of her previous ILCA international campaign. Her last Olympic appearance came at Tokyo 2020, where she finished 18th.
“I kind of knew it was going to be my final Olympics, and I thought I’d try to finish on a high, and instead I finished on a massive low,” she said.
“This summer I was out watching some of the lads training in the ILCA 7, and I thought, ‘That looks really nice — maybe I should hop back in my boat,’ not really thinking the Worlds would be a possibility. Two months later, here I am about to start.”
McMahon Among Returning World Medallists
Home Favourite: Eve McMahon carries Ireland’s hopes into the ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship on Dublin Bay after winning bronze at the 2025 Worlds. Photo: Sailing Energy
McMahon enters her home World Championship as one of the established international contenders after taking bronze at the 2025 Worlds, Ireland’s first senior World Championship medal in the class.
Defending world champion Louise Cervera of France and 2025 silver medallist Agata Barwińska of Poland are also in Dún Laoghaire.
Norway’s Line Flem Høst, bronze medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, adds further Olympic pedigree to a fleet drawn from six continents.
As Afloat reported in its weekend preview, the Irish challenge also includes Howth Yacht Club’s Sienna Wright, silver medallist at this summer’s ILCA 6 Youth World Championship, and Lucy Ives. The combination gives the host nation a particularly interesting line-up for the six-day championship.
Dublin Bay Takes Centre Stage
Mountain Marker: An ILCA 6 sailor races off Dún Laoghaire with the distinctive Sugar Loaf providing another readily identifiable Dublin Bay landmark during the championship practice race. Photo: Anna
The practice race also provided another perspective on a theme highlighted by WM Nixon in Afloat’s championship preview: the distinctive landmarks that identify Dublin Bay to visiting sailors.
The championship branding already incorporates the Poolbeg chimneys, while the East Pier lighthouse provides another unmistakable Dún Laoghaire reference. Event chairman Con Murphy noted after Sunday’s practice sailing that the Sugar Loaf, visible beyond the southern side of the bay, provides yet another recognisable landmark for the international fleet.
It adds a further dimension to Nixon’s observation that, while Dún Laoghaire is the championship base, Dublin Bay itself is very much being presented as the international stage for the event.
The championship uses the same format as the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship staged from Dún Laoghaire last month. Five days of qualifying are followed on Saturday by two Final Series races for the top ten sailors, while the remainder of the fleet completes one final qualifying race.
The format is an ILCA class decision and differs from the World Sailing format.
The ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds are being organised by the National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club in conjunction with ILCA and bring an historic run of Olympic-class World Championship sailing on Dublin Bay to a conclusion.
