Copithorne and Mapplebeck Retain Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup in Schull

21st September 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Cup Retained: Daniel Copithorne and Matt Mapplebeck (centre) celebrate a second successive Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup victory in Schull, with bronze medallists Dylan O’Driscoll and Aidan O’Reilly (left) and silver medallists Leo West-Hurst and Jackson Clark (right)

Daniel Copithorne and Matt Mapplebeck have retained the Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup after winning the 2026 edition at the Fastnet Marine Outdoor Education Centre (FMOEC) in Schull, West Cork.

The Schull Harbour Sailing Club and Royal Cork Yacht Club pairing topped the 16-boat invitation event, with Leo West-Hurst and Jackson Clark taking silver and Dylan O’Driscoll and Aidan O’Reilly completing the podium in third.

It was a second successive Junior Champions’ Cup victory for Copithorne and Mapplebeck, who also won the title in Schull in September 2025.

Copithorne and Mapplebeck Take Control

Saturday brought testing conditions in Schull Harbour, but the two local Schull entries emerged strongly, with Copithorne and Mapplebeck and O’Driscoll and O’Reilly occupying the top two positions overnight.

Conditions were markedly different on Sunday, with fluky and unpredictable winds producing a close finish to the competition.

Copithorne and Mapplebeck ultimately secured the title on 22 points, seven clear of West-Hurst and Clark on 29, while O’Driscoll and O’Reilly finished just one point further back on 30.

The bronze medallists therefore missed silver by the narrowest of margins.

16 Junior Helms Contest Schull Event

The annual competition brought together 16 invited junior helms drawn from dinghy classes and racing disciplines around Ireland, each sailing with a chosen crew in supplied two-person TR6 dinghies.

Copithorne was selected as the match and team racing representative, while O’Driscoll represented schools team racing. West-Hurst, from Ballyholme YC/Royal Ulster YC, was invited following his performance at the Topper Worlds.

As Afloat reported previously, the fleet also included representatives from the 29er, RS200, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, Optimist, International 420, Mirror, RS Feva and Topper classes.

Second Successive Title

The victory makes it back-to-back Junior Champions’ Cup titles for Copithorne and Mapplebeck.

In 2025, the pair won after Saturday's racing was lost to light winds and the entire qualifying programme was completed on the Sunday. They finished ahead of Dún Laoghaire sailors William Walsh and Eoin Byrne, with Cora McNaughton and Isha Duggan third.

The 2026 competition again underlined Schull's strength in junior sailing in the TR3.6 dinghy, with two local teams occupying places on the final podium.

Race Results

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Published in Irish Sailing, Youth Sailing, West Cork

Published in Irish Sailing

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Irish Sailing

The Irish Sailing Association, also known as Irish Sailing, is the national governing body for sailing, powerboating and windsurfing in Ireland.

Founded in 1945 as the Irish Dinghy Racing Association, it became the Irish Yachting Association in 1964 and the Irish Sailing Association in 1992.

Irish Sailing is a Member National Authority (MNA) of World Sailing and a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The Association is governed by a volunteer board, elected by the member clubs. Policy Groups provide the link with members and stakeholders while advising the Board on specialist areas. There is a professional administration and performance staff, based at the headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Core functions include the regulation of sailing education, administering racing and selection of Irish sailors for international competition. It is the body recognised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland for nominating Irish qualified sailors to be considered for selection to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games. Irish sailors have medalled twice at the Olympics – David Wilkins and Jamie Wikinson at the 1980 games, and Annalise Murphy at the 2016 games.

The Association, through its network of clubs and centres, offers curriculum-based training in the various sailing, windsurfing and powerboating disciplines. Irish Sailing qualifications are recognised by Irish and European Authorities. Most prominent of these are the Yachtmaster and the International Certificate of Competency.

It runs the annual All-Ireland Championships (formerly the Helmsman’s Championship) for senior and junior sailors.

The Association has been led by leading lights in the sailing and business communities. These include Douglas Heard, Clayton Love Junior, John Burke and Robert Dix.

Close to 100 sailors have represented Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Membership of Irish Sailing is either by direct application or through membership of an affiliated organisation. The annual membership fee ranges from €75 for families, down to €20 for Seniors and Juniors.