Sail Training Ireland has hailed 2022 as a “record-breaking year” in its latest annual report, published this past week.
The charity — which last month was recognised in the Lord Mayor’s Awards for its contributions to youth development and education in the city of Dublin — also took the opportunity to thank all of its volunteers, sponsors and other backers for their support for its tall ship training efforts throughout the year.
In his introduction, chairman Seamus McLoughlin said: “The past year was a big challenge for Sail Training Ireland as we emerged from the Covid pandemic of previous years and we were unsure how the year would unfold.
“However, 2022 was our best year since the charity was formed, with life-changing opportunities provided for over 550 trainees. In addition, our funding concerns were greatly alleviated by a very generous commitment by the Department of Defence to provide €100,000 each year for the next three years.
“I would like to think that this is a recognition by the department that our charity makes good use of any monies donated and recognises our high standards of governance, compliance with all statutory requirements, and that we deliver good value for the funds provided.”
Chief executive Daragh Sheridan described it as “a record-breaking year for the charity, as 546 young people from 26 counties went out on 30 voyages onboard five vessels”.
He also noted new initiatives such as the all-female ‘Lady Sail' voyages and the Leadership Masterclass project as well as STEM at Sea, alongside existing partnerships with Dublin's North East Inner City (NEIC) and the EU's Erasmus+ which have agreed funding to continue in 2023.
“We look forward to working with two new vessels in 2023, Leader and Fridtjof Nansen, in addition to our old friends Brian Boru, Maybe, Ilen, Pelican of London and Tenacious,” Sheridan added.
The full report is available to download from the Sail Training Ireland website.
Next up on Sail Training Ireland’s 2023 calendar is the new ‘Voyage of Empowerment’ for young people in association with Energia Renewables, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.
