The Irish Cruiser Racer Association's (ICRA) new committee for 2025 was elected at Saturday's national conference agm in Dun Laoghaire.

Commodore Denis Byrne announced the new lineup, which includes the association's new handicapping officer, Nigel Biggs, to the hybrid meeting at the National Yacht Club.

Up to 100 delegates from as far afield as Kerry, Sligo and Belfast Lough heard Byrne map out his 2025 plans for the national cruiser-racer body in a packed agenda of 13 speakers at the morning event.

Byrne told the gathering that staging a first-class national championship in June as part of Kinsale's Sovereign's Cup is an ICRA priority as the association adjusts to sailing's changing world.

The cruiser body says it will continue to support associations, clubs, and sailors, including building pathways to cruiser racing, from dinghy sailing to non-spinnaker sailing.

Byrne says it will advance its education programme, scrutinise basic IRC racing rules, and set up leading subgroups on handicap use nationwide.

As Afloat previously reported, guest speakers and ICRA's own boat of the year awards, plus updates on key summer regattas, were engaging sessions.

The meeting concluded with a lively – but brief – sailors' forum segment where grumbles surrounding IRC rating issues continued, and ICRA undertook to convene a separate meeting to consider 'alternatives'.

ICRA is currently running regional meetings meeting key club volunteers to present and discuss the research, findings and an ICRA Grassroots ‘Playbook’, to increase participation.

The ICRA Executive Committee elected at the 2025 AGM were: Alice Shanahan (National YC), Brian Raftery (Sligo YC), Daragh Connolly (Royal Cork YC), Mark Mills (Wicklow SC), Sam Hunt (Kinsale YC), Nigel Moss (Galway Bay SC), David Cullen (Howth YC), John Minnis (Royal Ulster YC & Royal North of Ireland YC), Stephen Mullaney (Howth YC), Peter Ryan (National YC), Nigel Biggs (Howth YC), John Leech (Lough Derg YC & Galway Bay SC) and Commodore Denis Byrne (Royal Cork YC).