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Displaying items by tag: Dollymount

Beachgoers on the East Coast beware: lion’s mane jellyfish have been sighted in the waters off North Dublin, as DublinLive reports.

The venomous marine wildlife — which has previously prompted warnings for Dublin beaches — was recently spotted at Dollymount and in Portmarnock, where the carcass of an injured seal also washed up in recent days.

Lion’s mane jellyfish carry a painful and potentially lethal sting, even when washed up on the beach.

Two years ago a spate of incidents saw a number of swimmers hospitalised after being stung by lion’s manes in Galway Bay.

Published in Marine Wildlife

Ireland’s hottest surfing spot is… Dublin?

It might not be Mullaghmore, but many surfers swear by the waves off Dollymount Strand in Dublin Bay, widely believed to the the longest in Ireland.

Local kitesurfers already know the score — the location has hosted the Battle for the Bay for many years, after all.

And now SurferToday sings the praises of a ferry-powered surf spot perhaps little known beyond the tight-kit Irish wave community.

Published in Surfing
Tagged under

#Kitesurfing - Fun, wind, water and fun are promised at this weekend’s Battle for the Bay kitesurfing and SUP competition on Dollymount Strand.

The best riders in the country and from around the globe will converge on Bull Island on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May to compete in the first leg of the IKSA tour at what organisers say is one of the best kitesurfing spots in the world.

All ages are welcome to cheer on the competitors, whether taking flight by kite or standing tall on their paddle boards.

Instructors will also be on hand to show you the ropes, while the food village, funfair and biodiversity area means there’s much more than the action on the waters of Dublin Bay.

For more see BattleForTheBay.com.

Published in Kitesurfing

#Pollution - The beaches at Dollymount and Sandymount on Dublin Bay have been closed to swimmers after a sewage spill in the Liffey caused by heavy rain on Thursday (8 June).

According to BreakingNews.ie, swimming is banned at both of the popular city bathing spots pending the results from water samples expected tomorrow (Monday 12 June).

It comes just weeks after two Dublin region coastal beaches lost their Blue Flag status in the latest list of EU beach quality awards.

That announcement followed days from the news that three other Dublin beaches — including Merrion Strand, adjacent to Sandymount — had failed to meet the minimum standards for bathing water quality.

Published in Coastal Notes

#BattleForTheBay - All ages are welcome to Dollymount Beach on the north side of Dublin Bay today (Saturday 28 May) for the 10th edition of kitesurfing weekender the Battle of the Bay.

Doubling as the first leg of kiteboarding's KBC Tour, the weekend will also host contests for stand up paddle boarding - with the action even branching out to the River Liffey tomorrow morning (Sunday 29 May) for the Dublin Bay SUP Classic.

Plus as always throughout the weekend there will be food and entertainment on the beach, including kiting and SUP lessons for kids, as well as beach volleyball and land yachting demonstrations.

For more details visit the Battle for the Bay website HERE. And see below for some of the action from last year's event:

Published in Kitesurfing

#Kitesurfing - It's Battle for the Bay time on Dollymount Strand this weekend (23-24 May), and The 42 brings us a preview of the kitesurfing action you can expect on Bull Island today and tomorrow.

Cheering on the competitors from the beach will be Irish medal winner Jade O'Connor, who's currently campaigning for a spot at a future Olympics when the sport makes its debut (potentially at Tokyo 2020).

And in her role as ambassador, O'Connor also has high praise some of the other action in Dublin Bay's waters, via the related discipline of boardercross – essentially kitesurfing on an obstacle course – and the crowd-pleasing freestylers.

“It’s really visual and it’s about jumping really high, like up to 20 metres in the air and doing tricks,” says the current British Ladies Champion.

The 42 has more on the story HERE.

Published in Kitesurfing

#Rescue - BreakingNews.ie reports on the rescue of a man from the water at Dollymount Strand on Monday morning (27 October).

Emergency services were dispatched to the scene after a passer-by expressed concern for a person seen in the cold water at the Bull Island beach.

Some 30 minutes later the casualty was sighted by Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 and winched on board.

The man was found to be unconscious and diagnosed with severe hypothermia, and was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment.

Two days previous a similar alert at the same beach for a kitesurfer in difficulty was stood down, as the Irish Examiner reports, when the man in question was discovered to have made the lengthy swim back to shore.

Published in Rescue
Tagged under

#Dollymount - The news earlier this week that the temporary parking ban on Dollymount Strand will be made permanent has sent ripples among Ireland's kitesurfing community – many of whom are said to be snubbing what was a popular site for the sport in Dublin Bay.

That's according to Herald.ie, which also reports that the increase of kitesurfing visitors among other beachgoers "has created pressures with regard to maintenance, public order and safety" that prompted the car ban by Dublin City Council.

Nicola Murphy, secretary of the Irish Kite Surfing Association (ISKA), said the body wants to fully co-operate with the council" on finding a solution that will restore road access to the beach for its members.

Herald.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Dublin Bay

#Dollymount - The Irish Times reports that a temporary ban on cars driving onto Dollymount Strand is to be made permanent by Dublin City Council.

The popular sandy stretch on Bull Island on the north side of Dublin Bay had been blocked off to traffic since June at its two entrances at the Bull Wall wooden bridge in Clontarf and the causeway to Raheny.

Councillors cited public safety concerns following an incident in which a woman was injured after her car was stuck in the sand, and which emergency services "had difficulty attending" due to "the haphazard nature of parking" on the beach.

The news has sparked upset among locals in Clontarf and Raheny, many of whom have frequented the beach by car for years without incident. The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Dublin Bay
Tagged under

#BLUE FLAGS - Dollymount Strand has regained its Blue Flag status in this year's round of awards, which sees the largest ever number of Irish beaches and marinas recognised.

The beach on north Dublin's Bull Island - which recently hosted Ireland's top kitesurfers for the 'Battle For The Bay' - once again flies the Blue Flag after losing it last year.

Also among the Dublin beaches receiving the EU accolade this year are Donabate, its first award since 2007, and Skerries south, which had not held Blue Flag status since 1995.

The news follows just weeks after Northern Ireland celebrated its own record year with 11 resorts receiving the coveted prize.

A total of 87 beaches and marinas around Ireland's coastline were awarded Blue Flag status this year, with some notable exceptions from the list.

As The Irish Times reports, Rush South and Malahide beach failed to make the cut, while in Cork, Claycastle Beach and the front strand at Yougal lost their flags.

And Mullaghmore in Sligo - an area now world-famous for its top-class surfing - lost out due to safety issues involving roaming livestock.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes
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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020

Irish Sailing Performance Head Quarters

Irish Sailing's base for the exclusive use of its own teams are located on the grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The Irish Sailing Performance HQ houses the senior Irish sailing teams such as Olympic Silver Medalist Annalise Murphy

The HQ plans were announced in May 2018 and opened in March 2019.

The HQ comprises a number of three converted shipping containers and a floating slipway and pontoon

The HQ aim is to improve both training and educational opportunities for them, thereby creating systematic medal potential.

The Performance HQ is entirely mobile and has space for briefings and athlete education, a gym, gear storage and a boat maintenance area.

The athlete briefing room can then be shipped directly to international competitions such as the Olympics Regatta and provide a base for athletes overseas.