If you were to set out to think of two keelboats in the decidedly varied Irish fleet that are just as different in concept as possible from each other, then no matter how much AI you might apply to the case, you'd invariably end up with the traditional Galway Hooker of Connemara at one end of the continuum, and the Flying Fifteen at the other.
Thus it's fascinating to see how one of the current growth areas of Flying Fifteen racing is Connemara. And to note that in recent years, wherever they may hold the national championship, the main prize heads west at its conclusion, back to the depths of County Galway.
Niall O'Brien and Ronan O Briain, Men of the West, won the national F/F title last at Whitehead in County Antrim in 2023. In September 2025 they won it again with an extraordinary seven race finish in the top five, racing from the National YC in Dublin Bay.
