George Jesters have won the 2026 Irish Team Racing Association National Championships at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, defeating Pourquoi Papa 3–0 in the championship final.
The winning six of Liam Glynn, Rosa Lyden, Jack Fahy, Kathy Kelly, Tom Higgins and Cian Lynch secured the title after three days of racing from Friday, 18 September to Sunday, 20 September.
The victory was a second Irish national title for George Jesters and followed a dominant qualifying performance in which they won 13 of their opening 14 races. Pourquoi Papa held second overnight, with Curious George third.
The championship continued a busy season of team racing at the Royal St George, which has already included the Grade 1 George Invitational and the 28-team Elmo Trophy.
Near 200 Races at Dún Laoghaire
The championship opened in brisk and gusty southerly winds on Dublin Bay on Friday. Race management completed 39 races before deteriorating conditions brought an early finish shortly after 1pm.
Three's Company: Fireflies converge during the Irish Team Racing Nationals, where teams race three boats against three in short, tactical contests
Saturday's fresher but more stable westerly provided the opportunity for a major catch-up, with Race Officer David Bolger and his team completing 109 races during the day.
The championship used a new “single changeover” Swiss League system, with teams sailing two consecutive races before changing over. Scheduling was handled through Russell Bolger's Sailflow system, allowing sailors to follow race assignments and changeovers on their phones.
Traffic Jam: Firefly crews cross paths during a busy weekend at the Royal St George, where close to 200 team races were completed over three days
The weekend produced just short of 200 races in total.
That followed another high-volume programme at the same venue in August, when the 2026 Elmo Trophy produced 173 races before Wild Cards beat Demons 3–2 in a five-race final.
The club's team racing programme also included the George Invitational, which was elevated to World Sailing Grade 1 status for 2026 and also used Fireflies, a Swiss League and knockout stages.
Knockout Decides National Title
Sunday began with a further two Swiss League races for each team before the top eight progressed to Gold Fleet quarter-finals under a new knockout format.
Teams placed ninth to 12th entered a separate Silver Fleet competition. Three of the four Gold quarter-finals went to a deciding third race before George Jesters and Pourquoi Papa progressed through the semi-finals.
Close Quarters: Three Firefly crews manoeuvre for position during the knockout stages of the Irish Team Racing National Championships in Dún Laoghaire
Pourquoi Papa's Tom Coulter, Zoe Whitford, Fiachra Geraghty, Emma Lynch, Archie Daly and Emily Khan took second overall in their first championship competing as an official team.
Georgous Gents — Jacques Murphy, Kate O'Connor, Rian Geraghty-McDonnell, Sophie Fasenfeld, Trevor Bolger and Katie Sheehy — beat Trinity and Tobago in the petite final to take third.
Deez Knots Take Silver Fleet
Deez Knots won the Silver Fleet knockout, while UCDivas were the highest-placed all-female team in tenth overall.
Prestige Worldwide, comprising Holly Cantwell, Tom Darcy, Jackson Clark, Amy Kiernan, Jacob Browne and Tara Hayes, received the highest-ranked youth team award.
Bay Formation: Colourful Fireflies spread across the water during three days of Irish Team Racing National Championship competition at Dún Laoghaire
The championship also marked the competitive debut of Trinity College Dublin's new fleet of Fireflies.
The next event on the Irish Team Racing Association calendar is scheduled to be the 2K National Championships in the first half of 2027.
