Kinsale Yacht Club’s Caoimhe Corkery and Ríona McMorrow-Moriarty of Tralee Bay Sailing Club have been crowned 2026 Irish 420 National Champions after finishing second overall in the 29-boat championship at Lough Derg Yacht Club.
The Irish 420 pair finished behind British visitors Laragh and Roisin Epstein of Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, whose remarkably consistent series earned them overall victory after eight races from 7-9 August.
Corkery and McMorrow-Moriarty, sailing IRL 55878, finished on 21 points after one discard, nine points clear of the next Irish crew. Their performance also secured the Ladies’ National Champion title.
Epstein Sisters Take Overall Victory
The Epsteins set the benchmark in a championship that brought together 24 Irish and five British boats. They won four of the eight races and never finished outside the top two in any of their seven counting scores. Their 14-point nett total gave them a seven-point overall winning margin.
Corkery and McMorrow-Moriarty began the series in the strongest possible fashion with victory in the opening race. They added a second place in race three and race five, a third in race six and another third in the final race to keep themselves firmly in contention throughout.
Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Matt Mapplebeck and Daniel Copithorne completed the overall podium on 30 points. They counted two race victories, in races four and eight, among their scores.
Irish Crews Pack the Top Ten
Irish boats filled six of the first ten places overall. Cora McNaughton and Sean Cronin of Ballyholme Yacht Club/Malahide Yacht Club were fourth on 33 points, tied with British pairing Bethany Skelding and Thomas Carrig in fifth.
Lough Derg Yacht Club’s Kate Kovtun and James Love took sixth overall on 38 points and, in doing so, won the Silver Fleet.
Galway Bay Sailing Club’s Niamh and Rían Baynes were eighth overall, while Royal Cork’s Isha Duggan and Tommy Hiras finished ninth.
Eve Bromilow and Thomas Underwood of Wicklow Sailing Club completed the top ten.
Lough Derg Pair Win Silver Fleet
Home-club sailors Kovtun and Love claimed the Silver Fleet title with their sixth place overall, a performance that also made them the highest-placed Lough Derg crew in the championship.
Kinsale’s Matthew Thuillier, sailing with Mena Sweetman of Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, took second in the Silver Fleet and 15th overall.
Galway Bay’s Edward Fitzmaurice and Jake Molloy were third in Silver and 18th overall.
Nelson and Smith Take Bronze Honours
Freddie Nelson and Sam Smith of Ballyholme Sailing Club won the Bronze Fleet after finishing 14th overall. Lough Derg’s Sean O’Doherty and David Evans took second in Bronze and 22nd overall, with clubmate Seamus Kennedy and Tom Ryan third in the division and 26th overall. The Bronze Fleet was introduced for the 2026 championship to encourage younger 13- and 14-year-old crews into national 420 competition.
The championship followed a two-day training camp led by international coach Filippo Mermillod. Racing began in light winds and sunshine before the fleet encountered stronger conditions as the eight-race series progressed.
Race Officer John Corkery of Kinsale Yacht Club oversaw the programme, while Lough Derg Yacht Club hosted the competitors ashore, with many of the sailors camping at the club during the championship.
Attention for a number of the Irish crews now turns to the 420 British National Championships at Brixham from 27 August, where seven Irish boats are expected to compete.
