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The Irish state is particularly aware of the threat climate change poses through sea level rises, given its island status, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said.

As The Irish Times reports, Mr Coveney and Minister for the Marine Michael Creed are leading the Government’s participation in the 2019 SeaFest and Our Ocean Wealth Summit in Cork this week.

Ahead of the conference, Mr Coveney welcomed the leaders and ambassadors from more than 30 island states such as the Seychelles, Mauritius, Antigua, Haiti, Barbados, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

“As a small island, Ireland understands the threats climate change poses to our friends in the Pacific, Caribbean, Atlantic and Indian oceans. It threatens their very existence,” Mr Coveney said.

“Ireland strongly believes that we can only address this challenge of a generation if we take strong climate justice approach. Emphasising the needs and realities of those who have the most to lose, yet have done least to contribute to the problem, will always be a centerpiece of our approach.”

Mr Coveney said Ireland wants to give leadership on the important issues of protecting the seas and maritime environment and countering climate change.

For more on the conference at the Ocean Summit, click here.

Published in Island News

#Rowing: Irish crews were prominent at London Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney Lake and took some of the biggest prizes on offer.

 The composite of Katie Shirlow and Lisa Murphy (NUIG), Niamh Casey (Skibbereen), Clara O’Brien (Castleconnell) and Rachel O’Leary (UCC) won the Championship coxed Four.

 The UCD men’s crew of Shane O’Connell, Andrew Goff, Shane Mulvaney and David O’Malley won the Championship Four.

 On Sunday, Niall Beggan of Commercial won the Championship Single Sculls and the under-23 women’s composite again won the Championship coxed four.

London Metropolitan Regatta, Dorney Lake (Selected Results; Irish interest; winners unless stated)

Men

Four – Open - Championship: UCD 6:24.45. Open – Tier Two: St Michael’s 6:38.62.

Four, coxed – Open: 1 NUIG 6:56.81, 2 UCD B 7:00.99.  Open, Academic: Univ of Limerick 7:15.26.Sculling, Quadruple – Tier Two: Queen’s, Shandon, UCC 6:32.47

Single, Open – Tier Two: Univ of Limerick (K Mannix) 7:37.80.  

Women

Four, coxed – Championship: Castleconnell, Skibbereen, NUIG, UCC 7:37.91.

Pair – Tier Two: Anna Liffey (D Maguire, C Dempsey) 8:10.25. Tier Three: Cork (J Duggan, C O'Sullivan) 8:07.63

Sunday

Men

Eight – Open - B Final: 1 UCD 6:04.76; 2 Cork 6:09.17

Four, coxed – Open, Academical – Tier Two: Queen’s, Belfast, Carlow, NUIG, UCC (R Corrigan, J Keating, D Breen, B O’Rourke; cox: A Humphries-Griffiths) 6:53.77.

Pair – Open – Tier Two: Cork (P Beechinor, M Cronin) 7:18.36

Sculling – Quadruple, Open: Lee (A Mahony, P Leonard, A Sheehan, D Kelly) 6:34.80

Single, Open: Commercial (N Beggan) 7:29.59. Open Single – Tier Two: Univ of Limerick (K Mannix) 7:38.56. Tier Four: Univ of Limerick (M Fanning) 8:16.55

Women

Four, coxed - Championship: Skibbereen, NUIG, UCC (K Shirlow, L Murphy, S O’Donnell, N Casey; cox: A Humphries-Griffiths) 7:28.16.

Sculling,

Double – Open – Tier Two: Lee (M Kidney, A Lynch) 7:59.08. Single – Tier Three: NUIG (S O’Connor) 8:30.50

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#Rowing: Jake and Fintan McCarthy produced a brilliant final sprint to take a place in the semi-finals of the lightweight double sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Lucerne today. Just two crews would go through, and Italy led the way. The world silver medallists stayed ahead of a tight pack of challengers, with Ukraine closest as they came to the line. But the McCarthy twins upped their rate and pushed Ukraine out of a qualifying spot by a quarter of a second.

 Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh, a new crew, did very well to qualify directly for their semi-final. They took the third and final qualifying spot in their heat. Switzerland and Britain fought it out at the head of the field, with Ireland holding off Spain and Sweden.

European Championships, Lucerne, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:26.53, 2 Romania 6:29.62.

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Two (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy (S Oppo, P Ruta) 6:14.73, 2 Ireland (J McCarthy, F McCarthy) 6:16.07; 3 Ukraine 6:16.32.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy (M Goretti) 7:05.54, 2 Switzerland (J Schaeuble) 7:06.73; 6 Ireland (G O’Donovan) 7:34.73.

Women

Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:30.65, Britain (V Thornley) 7:35.35

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat Three (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Switzerland 6:57.58, 2 Britain 6:58.61,  Ireland (D Walsh, L Heaphy) 7:14.55.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure opened her account at the European Rowing Championships in Lucerne with a good win. The world champion in the single sculls was given a good test in the third heat by Victoria Thornley of Britain, who stayed with her until the final stages. The two took the semi-final places. Jeannine Gmelin of Switzerland and Austria's Magdalena Lobnig won the other heats. They took silver and bronze, in that order, at the World Championships in 2018.

 Earlier, Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle had won their heat of the double sculls. Gary O’Donovan faces into a repechage in the lightweight single sculls. He took sixth in his heat.  

European Championships, Lucerne, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:26.53, 2 Romania 6:29.62.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Italy (M Goretti) 7:05.54, 2 Switzerland (J Schaeuble) 7:06.73; 6 Ireland (G O’Donovan) 7:34.73.

Women

Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:30.65, Britain (V Thornley) 7:35.35

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Aifric Keogh has had to withdraw from the Ireland team for the European Championships at the end of the month because of illness. The Galway woman was to form a pair with Monika Dukarska in Lucerne (May 31st to June 2nd), but this crew will now travel to the second World Cup in Poznan, Poland on June 21st to 23rd. A women’s four will also be entered in Poznan, which was not originally pencilled in as an event for Ireland crews.  

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland took a silver medal in Essen this morning at the European Junior Championships. Germany held on as Ireland mounted a sprint finish which might have taken gold – it fell short by .3 of a second.

The Ireland coxed four of Matt Gallagher, James O’Donovan, Jack Dorney, John Kearney and cox Leah O’Regan won their heat ahead of Germany, who took the race to them this time. The hosts led through most of the 2,000 metres, but could not get more than half a length ahead of the Irish.

Turkey came through for bronze, ahead of Russia.

European Junior Championships, Essen, Germany (Day Two, Irish interest)

Men Junior Four, coxed – A Final: 1 Germany 6:19.88, 2 Ireland (M Gallagher, J O’Donovan, J Dorney, J Kearney; cox: L O’Regan) 6:20.18, 3 Turkey 6:22.12.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s coxed four had the perfect start to their challenge at the European Junior Championships in Essen in Germany. The crew of Matt Gallagher, James O’Donovan, Jack Dorney, John Kearney and cox Leah O’Regan won their heat to secure direct qualification for the A Final. In good conditions, Germany and Ireland got out in front and held on to the two direct qualification places to the finish line. Ireland, in lane five, extended a marginal lead at halfway to just over a length at the end.

European Junior Championships, Essen, Germany, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Junior Four, coxed (First two directly to A Final; rest to Repechage):  1 Ireland (M Gallagher, J O’Donovan, J Dorney, J Kearney; cox: S O’Regan) 6:31.68, 2 Germany 6:35.47; 3 Ukraine 6:37.33.  

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland crews contended in four A Finals on Sunday in the Memorial Paolo d’Aloja in Italy. There were two close-up fourth places: the lightweight men’s double of Jake McCarthy and Fintan McCarthy lost bronze to Portugal in the closing stages of their race, while the novel four of Tara Hanlon, Sanita Puspure, Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska fought to prevent a 1-2-3 of Romania crews in their race but missed out. The four of Claire Feerick, Emily Hegarty, Aileen Crowley and Claire Lambe were fifth.

 Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne were on the pace in the men’s double, but finished fifth, while Cliodna Nolan and Lydia Heaphy took sixth in the lightweight women’s double sculls.  

Memorial Paolo d’Aloja, Piediluco, Italy, Finals (Irish results; selected)

Saturday

Men

Double – A Final: 3 P Doyle, R Byrne 6:33.90.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 3 F McCarthy, J McCarthy 6:38.43.

Women

Pair – A Final: 5 A Keogh, M Dukarska 7:33.3; 7 A Crowley, E Hegarty 7:42.36. B Final: 3 C Feerick, E Lambe 7:45.41.

Lightweight Double – A Final: 6 C Nolan, L Heaphy 7:48.91.

Single – A Final: 1 S Puspure 7:58.89.

Sunday

Men

Double Sculls – A Final: 5 P Doyle, R Byrne 6:41.56.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 4 F McCarthy, J McCarthy 6:45.55.

Women

Four – A Final: 4 T Hanlon, S Puspure, A Keogh, M Dukarska 7:05.53; 5 C Feerick, E Hegarty, A Crowley, E Lambe 7:06.98.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 6 C Nolan, L Heaphy 7:57.33.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure and two Ireland men’s crews took medals on the first day of the Memorial Paolo d’Aloja in Italy today. Puspure is world champion in the single sculls and she continued her run with a good win.

 The men’s double of Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle were another success story from the World Championships in 2018 – they finished ninth. They took third place in their A Final, which was won by Romania.

 The bronze medal for Jake and Fintan McCarthy came in a lightweight doubles final won by Italy, with Belgium second – these crews took silver and bronze at last year’s World Championships.

 The Ireland pairs of Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley and Emily Hegarty took fifth and seventh in their final.

 Lough Rinn Grand League Regatta, scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday), has been cancelled. The organisers had hoped to hold the event, and told clubs that some racing would not go ahead. But after receiving a forecast from Met Éireann of a powerful, gusting wind, they changed their decision.    

Memorial Paolo d’Aloja, Piediluco, Italy, Saturday Finals (Irish results; selected)

Men

Double – A Final: 3 P Doyle, R Byrne 6:33.90.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 3 F McCarthy, J McCarthy 6:38.43.

Women

Pair – A Final: 5 A Keogh, M Dukarska 7:33.3; 7 A Crowley, E Hegarty 7:42.36. B Final: 3 C Feerick, E Lambe 7:45.41.

Lightweight Double – A Final: 6 C Nolan, L Heaphy 7:48.91.

Single – A Final: 1 S Puspure 7:58.89.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure, the O’Donovan brothers and Ireland lightweight coach Dominic Casey have all been chosen as finalists for the World Rowing Awards 2018. Puspure won gold in the women’s single sculls and Paul and Gary O’Donovan won the lightweight double, coached by Casey, at the World Rowing Championships.

 Just two crews, along with Puspure, are in the running for Women’s Crew of the Year, while there are four crews in the finals of Men’s Crew of the Year and for Coach of the Year. Casey has reached the final three years in-a-row.

 The awards will be presented on November 23rd in Berlin.

Finalists for the 2018 World Rowing Awards 

Women’s Crew of the Year

  • Caileigh Filmer, Hillary Janssens, CanadaWomen’s pair
  • Sanita Puspure, IrelandWomen’s single sculls
  • Agnieszka Kobus-Zawojska, Marta Wieliczko, Maria Springwald, Katarzyna Zillmann, PolandWomen’s quadruple sculls

Men’s Crew of the Year

  • Joshua Hicks, Spencer Turrin, Jack Hargreaves, Alexander Hill, AustraliaMen’s four
  • Jason Osborne, GermanyLightweight men’s single sculls
  • Johannes Weissenfeld, Felix Wimberger, Maximilian Planer, Torben Johannesen, Jakob Schneider, Malte Jakschik, Richard Schmidt, Hannes Ocik, Martin Sauer (coxswain), GermanyMen’s eight
  • Paul O’Donovan, Gary O’Donovan, IrelandLightweight men’s double sculls

Para-rowing Crew of the Year

  • Perle Bouge, FrancePara PR2 women’s single sculls
  • Ellen Buttrick, Grace Clough, Oliver Stanhope, Daniel Brown, Erin Wysocki-Jones (coxswain), Great BritainPara PR3 mixed coxed four
  • Annika van der Meer, Corne de Koning, Netherlands, Para PR2 mixed double sculls

Coach of the Year

  • Uwe Bender, GermanyMen’s eight
  • Dominic Casey, Ireland, Men’s pair, lightweight men’s and women’s double sculls, lightweight men’s quadruple sculls
  • Jan Klerks, Netherlands, Para-rowing team
  • Laurel Korholz, United States, Women’s four, women’s single sculls

2018 Sustainability Award

  • “Pushing for a Clean Sweep”, National Schools Regatta, Great Britain
  • “Partnership with Waikato Water Authority”, Rowing NZ, New Zealand
  • “Love Where you Row”, Alan Robinson/Schuylkill Navy, United States
Published in Rowing
Page 8 of 76

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