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Displaying items by tag: A Final

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan brought Ireland a second A Final place at the World Cup Regatta in Belgrade as they won their semi-final of the lightweight double sculls. The Skibbereen men moved through the early leaders to lead by halfway and they held the lead to the finish, though Poland closed to within a second on the line. Belgium held off the Czech Republic to take third.  

 Denise Walsh and Margaret Cremen finished sixth in the second semi-final of the women’s lightweight double. The United States won the race from Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Ireland crew found it hard to make an impression and held sixth from early on.

 Sanita Puspure had taken her place in the A Final of the women’s single sculls with second place in her semi-final.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Hungary 6:55.35, 2 Greece 6:57.73, 3 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:59.0, 4 South Africa 7:00.22.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:22.28, 2 Poland 6:22.87, 3 Belgium 6:24.21.

Women

Pair – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Spain 7:35.18, 2 Denmark 7:35.77, 3 Britain Two 7:39.35; 4 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:42.60.

Double Sculls – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): Netherlands 7:16.27, 2 Belarus One 7:18.73, 3 Belarus Two 7:23.46; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:25.60.

Lightweight Double Sculls - Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 United States One 7:03.73, 2 Switzerland 7:05.94, 3 Netherlands 7:06.04; 6 Ireland (M Cremen, D Walsh) 7:24.87.  

Single Sculls – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Denmark (F Erichsen) 7:24.76, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.43, 3 Britain (V Thornley) 7:25.78.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure took second in her semi-final and qualified for the A Final of the single sculls at the World Cup regatta in Belgrade, Serbia. Denmark’s Fie-Udby Erichsen took over the lead early and won, with Puspure and Kara Kohler of the United States not far behind as they crossed halfway. However, the anticipated move from Vicky Thornley of Britain upset the order. She pushed up beside Puspure, who held on to second. Kohler missed out and finished fourth.

World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Hungary 6:55.35, 2 Greece 6:57.73, 3 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:59.0, 4 South Africa 7:00.22.

Women

Pair – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Spain 7:35.18, 2 Denmark 7:35.77, 3 Britain Two 7:39.35; 4 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:42.60.

Double Sculls – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): Netherlands 7:16.27, 2 Belarus One 7:18.73, 3 Belarus Two 7:23.46; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:25.60.

Single Sculls – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Denmark (F Erichsen) 7:24.76, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.43, 3 Britain (V Thornley) 7:25.78.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland's Shane O'Driscoll and Mark O'Donovan finished fifth in the A Final of the lightweight double sculls at the World Cup regatta in Poznan, Poland this afternoon. The Irish crew put in a good final third, but they had slipped too far back to find a medal placing. At the head of the field, Britain's Sam Scrimgeour and Joel Cassells came under real pressure from Denmark, but held out, with France taking the bronze medal.

World Cup Regatta, Poznan, Poland (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Lightweight Pair - Repechage (First Four to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll) 6:36.95, 2 Denmark 6:39.04, 3 Germany 6:42.79, 4 Turkey 6:44.77; 5 Netherlands 6:49.26, 6 Austria 7:05.32. A Final: 1 Britain 6:26.78, 2 Denmark 6:27.66, 3 France 6:29.79; 4 Turkey 6:30.84, 5 Ireland  6:32.14, 6 Germany 6:35.45.

 Lightweight Double Sculls - Repechage (First Two to A Final; Rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (G O'Donovan, P O'Donovan) 6:15.08, 2 Britain (W Fletcher, R Chambers) 6:15.22; 3 Germany 6:15.91, 4 Switzerland 6:36.24, 5 Romania.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls - D Final (Places 19, 20): 1 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:04.66, 2 Thailand (R Raklao) 8:25.85.

Published in Rowing

#Canoeing: Michael Fitzsimon won his semi-final of the men’s K1 1,000 metres to reach the A Final at the canoe sprint European Olympic Qualifier in Duisburg in Germany. The under-23 competitor can qualify for the Olympic Games if he finishes in the top two in the final.

Canoe Sprint European Olympic Qualifier, Duisburg, Germany (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

K1 1,000 – Heat One (Winner to A Final; 2-7 to semi-final; rest out): 4 M Fitzsimon 3:31.693. Semi-Final: 1 Fitzsimon 3:31.453.

K2 200 – Heat One (First Three to A Final; 4-7 to semi-final): 6 T Brennan, B Watkins 34.350. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest out): 5 Brennan, Watkins 34.249.

Women

K1 500 – Heat One (Three to Final; 4-7 to Semi-Final): 5 J Egan 1:55.428. Semi-Final (Three to A Final): 3 Egan 1:52.823.

Paracanoe World Championships, Duisburg

Men - KL3 200- Heat Four (First Seven to Semi-Final): 2 P O’Leary 42.061. Semi-Final One (First Two and next best time to A Final; 3rd, 4th to B Final): 3 O’Leary 41.722.

 

Published in Canoeing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll gave Ireland their second A Final place at the European Rowing Championships in Brandenburg in Germany with a second-place finish in this morning’s repechage. The Ireland lightweight pair rowed a brave race. Four boats qualified from six, but it was a battle all the way down the course.  O’Donovan and O’Driscoll had a good start and led all the way until the final quarter, where Denmark passed them. The margins were tight for qualification: Poland found themselves edged out by six hundredths of a second by fast-finishing Portugal.

 Denise Walsh had earlier qualifed for the A Final of the lightweight single sculls.

European Championships, Brandenburg, Germany – Day Two (Selected results, Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Pair – Repechage (First Four to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Denmark 7:26.63, 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 7:27.99, 3 Germany 7:29.0, 4 Portugal 7:29.70.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (D Walsh)  8:39.41, 2 Britain (I Walsh) 8:41.08.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure won her semi-final and will compete in the A Final of the single sculls at the World Cup Regatta in Varese in Italy. The Ireland sculler powered into an early lead and never relinquished it. A battle for second and third was won by Tatsiana Kukhta of Belarus and Carling Zeeman of Canada, with Ukraine’s Nataliya Dovgodko missing out and going to the B Final.   

World Cup Regatta, Varese – Day Two (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Four – C Final (places 13 to 16): 1 Canada One 6:09.73, 2 Serbia 6:11.21, 3 Austria 6:15.85, 4 Ireland (L Seaman, M O’Donovan, L Keane, S O’Driscoll) 6:16.00.

Women

Pair – C Final (places 13 to 16): 1 Norway One 7:22.74, 2 Ukraine 7:23.16, 3 Ireland (L Kennedy, B O’Brien) 7:33.07.  

Single Sculls – A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:26.60, 2 Belarus Two (T Kukhta) 7:27.86, 3 Canada (C Zeeman) 7:29.01; 4 Ukraine 7:30.70, 5 Sweden 7:37.22, 6 Latvia 7:37.48.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C Final (places 13 to 17): 1 Ireland (C Lambe, S Jennings) 7:17.24, 2 Italy Three 7:26.29, 3 Chile 7:29.71.  

Lightweight Single Sculls – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Poland Two 7:49.90, 2 Switzerland One 7:51.76; 5 Ireland Two (S McCrohan) 8:04.69, 6 Ireland One (D Walsh) 8:08.81

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Sanita Puspure finished second in her repechage to secure an A Final spot at the European Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland this morning. Puspure led early on, but the top two places were the key ones, and Puspure and Tatsiana Kukhta of Belarus nailed them down, as Julia Richter of Gernany and Eveline Peleman of Belgium struggled. Ireland wll have three boats in tomorrow's finals, as the men's and women's lightweight double sculls had already qualified.

European Rowing Championships, Poznan, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls – A/B Semi-Final One (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Britain (R Chambers, W Fletcher) 6:16.83, 2 Norway 6:21.02, 3 Ireland (P O’Donovan, G O’Donovan) 6:22.89; 4 Czech Republic 6:27.58, 5 Austria 6:31.75, 6 Greece 6:41.41.

Women

Pair – A/B Semi-Final One (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Netherlands 7:05.80, 2 Romania 7:09.40,3 France 7:13.10; 4 Czech Republic 7:14.97, 5 Ireland (L Kennedy, M Dukarska) 7:30.00, 6 Germany 7:34.45.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A/B Semi-Final One (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Poland 6:58.39, 2 Denmark 7:02.24, 3 Ireland (C Lambe, D Walsh) 7:02.82; 4 Russia 7:02.99, 5 Romania 7:03.82, 6 Czech Republic 7:17.73.

Single Sculls – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Belarus 7:32.81, 2 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:36.20; 3 Germany 7:40.65, 4 Belgium 7:47.19.

Lightweight Single Sculls – A/B Semi-Final One (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Russia 7:42.99, 2 Lithuania 7:44.09, 3 Britain (I Walsh) 7:44.62; 4 Ireland (S Jennings) 7:45.99, 5 Austria 7:58.39, 6 Latvia 8:02.81.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Paul O’Donovan finished fourth in an extraordinarily-fast A Final of the lightweight single sculls at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam today. The race winner, Marcello Miani of Italy, set the world’s best time, and second-placed Lars Hartig of Germany also finished inisde the old record in the tailwind conditions. O’Donovan (20) was the slowest over the first 500 metres. He came from behind to pick off Pedro Fraga of Portugal and Perry Ward of Australia, but even his outstanding speed in the closing stages could not bridge the gap to Michael Schmid of Switzerland, who took bronze.

 The world's best time had earlier been breached by American Andrew Campbell Junior of the United Sates in the C Final, but Miani and Hartig bettered it again.

World Rowing Championships, Amsterdam, Day Six (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Four – Semi-Final (First Three to A Final): 1 Denmark 5:43.16 (world best time), 2 Britian (M Aldred, P Chambers, R Chambers, C Bartley) 5:43.97, 3 New Zealand 5:47.95.

Lightweight Pair – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 China (Zhenwei Hou, Fangbing Zhang) 6:28.29, 2 Bulgaria 6:30.40, 3 Netherlands 6:31.01, 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, N Kenny) 6:34.06, 5 Austria 6:37.65, 6 Chile 6:43.01.

Lightweight Single Sculls – A Final: 1 Italy (M Miani) 6:43.37, 2 Germany (L Hartig) 6:46.73, 3 Switzerland (M Schmid) 6:50.88; 4 Ireland (P O’Donovan) 6:50.88, 5 Australia 6:59.84, 6 Portugal 7:07.94.

Women

Four – B Final (Places 7 to 10): 1 Netherlands 6:28.95, 2 Italy 6:35.51, 3 Germany 6:37.90, 4 Ireland (M O’Neill, E Tormey, A Keogh, B O’Brien) 6:43.62.

Double – A/B Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) 1 Australia (O Aldersey, S Kehoe) 6:37.31 (new World Best Time), 2 Lithuania (D Vistartaite, M Valciukaite) 6:30.34, 3 New Zealand (F Bourke, Z Stevenson) 6:43.34; 4 Netherlands 6:46.40, 5 Ukraine 6:59.20, 6 Ireland (H Hannigan, M Dukarska) 7:14.75.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Russia (D Stepochkina, O Arkadova) 6:58.21, 2 Ireland (C Lambe, D Walsh) 7:00.11, 3 Denmark 7:03.49, 4 Switzerland 7:03.51, 5 Belarus 7:09.08, 6 Greece 7:14.20.

Single – A/B Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final)

Ireland (S Puspure): 1 New Zealand (E Twigg) 7:18.68, 2 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:23.93, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.61; 4 United States 7:29.18, 5 Lithuania 7:33.09, 6 Czech Republic 7:43.150.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Sanita Puspure secured an A Final place for Ireland with an admirable performance in difficult conditions in the semi-final of the women’s single sculls at the World Championships in Amsterdam today. Puspure fought her way into third place behind the impressive Emma Twigg of New Zealand and Magdalena Lobnig of Austria early on and held this down the course in choppy water. She refused to yield to a strong challenge from Genevra Stone of the United States and closed up on Lobnig in the run to the line.

The Ireland women’s double of Helen Hannigan and Monika Dukarska finished sixth in a record-breaking semi-final. Sally Kehoe and Olympia Aldersey of Australia won in a new world’s best time. Ireland started quite well, but were not in real contention for a place in the A Final.

There was also a new record in the lightweight men’s four semi-final. Denmark ousted their own country’s great crew of the 1990s from the record books while second-placed Britain, with the Chambers brothers, Peter and Richard, in the two and three seats, also came in under the old record.

World Rowing Championships, Amsterdam, Day Six (Irish interest, selected results)

Men

Lightweight Four – Semi-Final (First Three to A Final): 1 Denmark 5:43.16 (world best time), 2 Britian (M Aldred, P Chambers, R Chambers, C Bartley) 5:43.97, 3 New Zealand 5:47.95.

Lightweight Pair – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 China (Zhenwei Hou, Fangbing Zhang) 6:28.29, 2 Bulgaria 6:30.40, 3 Netherlands 6:31.01, 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, N Kenny) 6:34.06, 5 Austria 6:37.65, 6 Chile 6:43.01.

Women

Four – B Final (Places 7 to 10): 1 Netherlands 6:28.95, 2 Italy 6:35.51, 3 Germany 6:37.90, 4 Ireland (M O’Neill, E Tormey, A Keogh, B O’Brien) 6:43.62.

Double – A/B Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) 1 Australia (O Aldersey, S Kehoe) 6:37.31 (new World Best Time), 2 Lithuania (D Vistartaite, M Valciukaite) 6:30.34, 3 New Zealand (F Bourke, Z Stevenson) 6:43.34; 4 Netherlands 6:46.40, 5 Ukraine 6:59.20, 6 Ireland (H Hannigan, M Dukarska) 7:14.75.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Russia (D Stepochkina, O Arkadova) 6:58.21, 2 Ireland (C Lambe, D Walsh) 7:00.11, 3 Denmark 7:03.49, 4 Switzerland 7:03.51, 5 Belarus 7:09.08, 6 Greece 7:14.20.

Single – A/B Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zealand (E Twigg) 7:18.68, 2 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:23.93, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.61; 4 United States 7:29.18, 5 Lithuania 7:33.09, 6 Czech Republic 7:43.150.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Ireland’s Sanita Puspure qualified for her second successive championship final by finishing third in her semi-final at the World Cup regatta in Aiguebelette in France. Emma Twigg of New Zealand, who won gold at the first World Cup regatta in Sydney, won this sem-final convincingly, with Genevra Stone of the United States and Puspure taking the other A Final qualification spots. Puspure started well and led early on. When Stone came through she and Stone swapped second and third, staying clear of the rest of the field.

World Cup Regatta, Aiguebelette, France, Day Two (Selected Results, Irish interest)

Men

Single Sculls – D Final (Places 19 to 23): 1 Bulgaria 7:14.01, 2 Ireland (J Keohane) 7:16.48, 3 China 7:19.41.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Germany Two (J Schoemann-Finck) 7:00.71, 2 Bulgaria (V Nedelcho) 7:03.69, 3 France (D Piqueras) 7:04.23; 4 Ireland One (P O’Donovan) 7:06.99, 5 Switzerland One 7:14.8, 6 Algeria 7:21.36. C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Ireland Two (M O’Donovan) 7:17.11, 2 Tunisia One 7:17.40, 3 Switzerland Two 7:19.58.

Women

Pair – A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final):

1 United States Three (V Opitz, M Musnicki) 7:02.27, 2 United States One (M Kalmoe, K Simmonds) 7:02.33, 3 United States Four (A Polk, L Schmetterling) 7:04.23; 4 Canada 7:07.94, 5 Ireland (L Kennedy, L Dilleen) 7:16.80, 6 France 7:32.46.

Double Sculls – C Final (Places 13, 14): 1 France 7:12.84, 2 Ireland (M Dukarska, E Moran) 7:20.78.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Britain (I Walsh, K Copeland) 7:05.84, 2 China One (Tianyu Teng, Wenyi Huang) 7:07.25, 3 Sweden (C Lilja, E Fredh) 7:08.90; 4 Australia 7:13.07, 5 China Two 7:13.17, 6 Ireland (C Lambe, D Walsh) 7:14.79.

Single Sculls – A/G Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zeland (E Twigg) 7:27.30, 2 United States (G Stone) 7:33.02, 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:33.79; 4 Germany 7:38.42, 5 Switzerland 7:42.76, 6 France 7:44.20

Pararowing: ASM1X - B Final: 4 Ireland (T Kelly) 5:42.41.

Published in Rowing
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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.

©Afloat 2020

Irish Sailing Performance Head Quarters

Irish Sailing's base for the exclusive use of its own teams are located on the grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The Irish Sailing Performance HQ houses the senior Irish sailing teams such as Olympic Silver Medalist Annalise Murphy

The HQ plans were announced in May 2018 and opened in March 2019.

The HQ comprises a number of three converted shipping containers and a floating slipway and pontoon

The HQ aim is to improve both training and educational opportunities for them, thereby creating systematic medal potential.

The Performance HQ is entirely mobile and has space for briefings and athlete education, a gym, gear storage and a boat maintenance area.

The athlete briefing room can then be shipped directly to international competitions such as the Olympics Regatta and provide a base for athletes overseas.