Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

AFloat Banner 635

Royal Irish Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin A96 RC84

01 280 9452 - [email protected] - Visit Website

Royal Irish Yacht Club News
Royal St. George's Michael O'Connor at the helm of Ted, the winner of the pre-World Championship Irish East Coast event on Dublin Bay
With under a week to go to the 2022 SB20 World Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay, Dun Laoghaire's Michael O'Connor has scored a significant win at a spiced-up edition of the Irish Eastern Championships populated…
Paddy Boyd is the 2023 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta Event Director
Ireland's biggest sailing regatta has appointed a new Event Director for its next edition. Highly regarded international sailor and administrator Paddy Boyd has taken over the running of the 2023 Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta. The Dublin Bay sailor is tasked…
The latest Cape 31 to arrive in Ireland, 'Blast' is on the deck of the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The latest Cape 31 arrival at the Royal Irish Yacht Club is the first of the new ultra-modern sportsboats into Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The new addition to Dublin Bay brings the Irish fleet to five, with three boats already racing…
Jerry Dowling, SB20 World Council President and Royal Irish Yacht Club Commodore (left) and John Malone CEO Provident CRM Dublin
Provident CRM has been announced as the title sponsor of September's Royal Irish Yacht Club hosted SB20 World Championships 2022 at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The RIYC will host the event on Dublin Bay from the 5th to the 9th of…
At the heart of it – John Maybury in the midst of crew and Flag Officers at Volvo Cork Week with one of the many trophies won by ICRA Nats 2022 Champion Joker II
The complexities of Volvo Cork Week 2022 may have obscured some of the important National Championships taking place within it and its many classes. But aboard the more serious boats, the “hidden target” was the ICRA Nationals 2022, and the…
Volvo's David Thomas (right) & Round Ireland Race Kyran O’Grady (left) presenting the keys of a new Volvo XC40 to Round Ireland Race winner Michael Boyd
Royal Irish Yacht Club skipper Michael Boyd finally got his hands on the Volvo car prize after accumulating the best overall points’ results on corrected time in the biennial Round Ireland races 2016, 2018 and 2022. To add to the drama,…
John Maybury's Joker II crew from the Royal Irish Yacht Club had five wins from nine races to become IRC Two Division Cork Week champion by a big margin of 12 points
16 teams had windward leeward and round the cans courses over the five days at Cork Week. John Maybury’s J/109 Joker 2 with a team from the Royal Irish YC, is the ICRA class champion. Joker 2 scored four race wins…
Paul Barrington's J109 Jalapeno from the National Yacht Club
James McCann's Mustang 30 Peridot of the Royal Irish Yacht Club was the winner in Thursday night's (race 12) six-boat IRC One division of the AIB DBSC Sponsored Summer Series on Dublin Bay. Second by 13 seconds on corrected time was Dick…
Saturday's much anticipated Drumshanbo Gin Royal Irish Yacht Club regatta racing at Dun Laoghaire has been cancelled due to strong winds. Race officers went to sea to check the conditions and reported strong southerly winds gusting to 33 knots on…
The Water Wag's Con Murphy (left) with RIYC Commodore Jerry Dowling and Drumshanbo Gin RIYC Water Wag Regatta prizewinners Bairbre Stewart and Pam McKay
The Water Wag Royal Irish Yacht Club regatta race prize was won on Wednesday night by the club's Bairbre Stewart and Pam McKay in light airs in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The prize was presented by club Commodore Jerry Dowling to…
J109 Jigamaree (Ronan Harris) from the host club competing in the 2018 Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin RIYC Regatta on Dublin Bay
Entry is now open for the Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin Royal Irish Regatta 2022, hosted this Saturday 25 June by the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. Race tickets run from €70 for cruisers to just €10 for a…
National Dragon Champion Neil Hegarty of the RStGYC took the East Coast title after six races sailed at the Royal Irish Yacht Club hosted event.  Overnight leader on Saturday, Hegarty sailing with crew Kevin O’Boyle and Charlie Bolger clinched the…
Phantom skippered by Neil Hegarty leads at the Royal Irish Yacht Club Dragon East Coast Championship on Dublin Bay (file photo)
National Dragon Champion Neil Hegarty of the Royal St. George Yacht Club leads this weekend's class East Coast Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire Harbour.  After four races sailed in light westerly winds, Hegarty sailing with Kevin…
1720 sportsboat East Coast Winners - The Waterford Harbour 1720 Root 1 crew (from left) Charlie Boland, Geoff Tait, Steve McConnell, Julian Hughes, Max Sweetman and Shane Hughes
Waterford Harbour Sailing Club took the top three places overall at the 1720 East Coast Championships at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Sunday, with the Dunmore East's club's Julian Hughes taking the title by two points.  The Royal Irish Yacht Club hosted a four-class…
Michael O'Connor's Ted leads after one race in the SB20 class of the RIYC hosted Sportsboat Cup
The Royal Irish Yacht Club hosted four-class Dun Laoghaire Cup for sports boats with racing for 1720, SB20, J80 and Beneteau First 21 classes got off to a slow start on Saturday due to unstable winds on Dublin Bay. In a fine…
Andrew Craig's Chimaera from the Royal Irish Yacht Club
Andrew Craig's Chimaera from the Royal Irish Yacht Club was the winner of the Cruisers One/J109 Race five in DBSC's AIB Summer Series on Saturday.  Racing was held in light southeasterly winds that never reach ten knots on Dublin Bay.Craig beat…

Royal Irish Yacht Club - Frequently Asked Questions

The Royal Irish Yacht Club is situated in a central location in Dun Laoghaire Harbour with excellent access and visiting sailors can be sure of a special welcome. The clubhouse is located in the prime middle ground of the harbour in front of the town marina and it is Dun Laoghaire's oldest yacht club. 

What's a brief history of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The yacht club was founded in 1831, with the Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo being its first Commodore. 

John Skipton Mulvany designed the clubhouse, which still retains a number of original architectural features since being opened in 1851.

It was granted an ensign by the Admiralty of a white ensign with the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Ireland beneath the Union Jack in canton.

Many prominent names feature among the past members of the Club. The first Duke of Wellington was elected in 1833, followed by other illustrious men including the eccentric Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Sir Dominic Corrigan the distinguished physician, Sir Thomas Lipton, novelist, George A. Birmingham, yachtsman and author, Conor O'Brien, and famous naval historian and author, Patrick O Brian. 

In the club's constitution, it was unique among yacht clubs in that it required yacht owners to provide the club's commodore with information about the coast and any deep-sea fisheries they encountered on all of their voyages.

In 1846, the club was granted permission to use the Royal prefix by Queen Victoria. The club built a new clubhouse in 1851. Despite the Republic of Ireland breaking away from the United Kingdom, the Royal Irish Yacht Club elected to retain its Royal title.

In 1848, a yachting trophy called "Her Majesty's Plate" was established by Queen Victoria to be contested at Kingstown where the Royal Irish Yacht Club is based. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland at the time, George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon suggested it should be contested by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Royal St. George Yacht Club in an annual regatta, a suggestion that was approved by both clubs with the Royal St. George hosting the first competitive regatta.

The RIYC celebrated its 185th Anniversary in 2016 with the staging of several special events in addition to being well represented afloat, both nationally and internationally. It was the year the club was also awarded Irish Yacht Club of the Year as Afloat's W M Nixon details here.

The building is now a listed structure and retains to this day all its original architectural features combined with state of the art facilities for sailors both ashore and afloat.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's emblem?

The Club's emblem shows a harp with the figure of Nice, the Greek winged goddess of victory, surmounted by a crown. This emblem has remained unchanged since the foundation of the Club; a symbol of continuity and respect for the history and tradition of the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's ensign?

The RIYC's original white ensign was granted by Royal Warrant in 1831. Though the Royal Irish Yacht Club later changed the ensign to remove the St George's Cross and replace the Union Jack with the tricolour of the Republic of Ireland, the original ensign may still be used by British members of the Royal Irish Yacht Club

Who is the Commodore of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The current Commodore is Jerry Dowling, and the Vice-Commodore is Tim Carpenter.

The RIYC Flag Officers are: 

What reciprocal club arrangements does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have?  

As one of Ireland's leading club's, the Royal Irish Yacht Club has significant reciprocal arrangements with yacht clubs across Ireland and the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and the rest of the World. If you are visiting from another Club, please have with a letter of introduction from your Club or introduce yourself to the Club Secretary or to a member of management staff, who will show you the Club's facilities.

What car parking does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have at its Dun Laoghaire clubhouse?

The RIYC has car parking outside of its clubhouse for the use of its members. Paid public car parking is available next door to the club at the marina car park. There is also paid parking on offer within the harbour area at the Coatl Harbour (a 5-minute walk) and at an underground car park adjacent to the Royal St. George Yacht Club (a 3-minute walk). Look for parking signs. Clamping is in operation in the harbour area.

What facilities does the Royal Irish Yacht Clubhouse offer? 

The Royal Irish Yacht Club offers a relaxed, warm and welcoming atmosphere in one of the best situated and appointed clubhouses in these islands. Its prestige in yachting circles is high and its annual regatta remains one of the most attractive events in the sailing calendar. It offers both casual and formal dining with an extensive wine list and full bar facilities. The Club caters for parties, informal events, educational seminars, themed dinners and all occasions. The RIYC has a number of venues within the Club each of which provides a different ambience to match particular needs.

What are the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Boathouse facilities?

The RIYC boathouse team run the launch service to the club's swinging moorings, provide lifting for dry-sailed boats, lift and scrub boats, as well as maintaining the fabric of the deck, pontoon infrastructure, and swinging moorings. They also maintain the club crane, the only such mobile crane of the Dun Laoghaire Yacht Clubs.

What facilities are offered for junior sailing at the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

One of the missions of the Royal Irish Yacht Club is to promote sailing as a passion for life by encouraging children and young adults to learn how to sail through its summer courses and class-specific training throughout the year. 

RIYC has an active junior section. Its summer sailing courses are very popular and the club regularly has over 50 children attending courses in any week. The aim is for those children to develop lifelong friendships through sailing with other children in the club, and across the other clubs in the bay.
 
Many RIYC children go on to compete for the club at regional and national championships and some have gone on to represent Ireland at international competitions and the Olympic Regatta itself.
 
In supporting its young sailors and the wider sailing community, the RIYC regularly hosts junior sailing events including national and regional championships in classes such as the Optmist, Feva and 29er.
 
Competition is not everything though and as the club website states:  "Many of our junior sailors have gone on the become sailing instructors and enjoy teaching both in Ireland and abroad.  Ultimately, we take most pleasure from the number of junior sailors who become adult sailors and enjoy a lifetime of sailing with the club".