Dún Laoghaire will become the centre of the international sailing world this week as the 2026 ILCA 6 Women’s World Championship gets underway on Dublin Bay, bringing together Olympic medallists, world champions and one of Ireland’s strongest ever women’s sailing teams.

The Championship was formally opened on Sunday, with 108 sailors representing 44 nations preparing for the first races on Monday. Competition continues through to Saturday, September 12.

It is the second half of an extraordinary few weeks for Irish sailing. The Royal St George Yacht Club and National Yacht Club have already hosted the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship, won by Hungary’s Jonatán Vadnai at the end of August, and now welcome the women competing in the Olympic single-handed class.

It marks the first time the Women’s ILCA World Championship has been staged in Ireland and completes a double World Championship programme that has brought more than 250 of the world’s leading sailors to Dublin Bay.

McMahon Among the Favourites

Irish hopes will centre primarily on Eve McMahon, who enters the week ranked number two in the world and with genuine expectations of challenging for a medal.

McMahon’s trajectory since the Paris Olympic Games has been remarkable. She won Ireland’s first senior World Championship medal in the class when taking bronze in Qingdao last year and reached number one in the World Sailing rankings.

Her 2026 season has confirmed that it was no one-off. She won the opening Sailing Grand Slam event at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, took silver at Hyères, was fourth overall and Under-23 European Champion in Croatia and added another bronze at the Grand Slam event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic venue in July.

The 22-year-old Howth sailor also possesses something her international rivals cannot replicate: an intimate knowledge of Dublin Bay.

Wind shifts, tide and the short, steep chop that can develop on the Bay have undone plenty of visiting sailors over the years. McMahon has spent much of her sailing life learning those conditions.

She will need every advantage against an exceptional field.

France’s Louise Cervera arrives as defending World Champion, with 2025 silver medallist Agata Barwińska of Poland also competing. Former World Champions Mária Érdi of Hungary and Belgium’s two-time champion Emma Plasschaert are amongst the contenders, alongside American Charlotte Rose, Switzerland’s Maud Jayet and Paris Olympic bronze medallist Line Flem Høst of Norway.

The Return of Annalise Murphy

Ten years after producing one of the great Irish Olympic performances to win silver in Rio, Murphy will once more race internationally in the class in which she made her name.

She retired from Olympic campaigning following Tokyo but has returned to the boat this summer after becoming a mother, initially more from a desire to enjoy sailing again than with a serious international comeback in mind.

Murphy won the Irish National Championships last month and will now test herself against the world’s best on the waters where she learned to sail as a member of the National Yacht Club.

Ireland’s four-strong representation is completed by Lucy Ives and Sienna Wright, giving two younger sailors the opportunity to compete in a senior World Championship on home waters.

A Different World Championship Format

Racing begins on Monday with five days of qualifying competition.

The top ten after Friday will progress to a new-look Final Series on Saturday featuring two races, while the remainder of the fleet will contest one further qualifying race.

It is the same format used at the men’s World Championship last week and is designed to ensure that the medals remain in play until the closing stages of the competition.

The final races will also provide the most accessible window for those beyond the sailing community, with the Medal Races streamed live on the ILCA YouTube channel, featuring commentary from international sailor Maurice O’Connell and Beijing Olympian Ciara Peelo.

Ireland on the World Sailing Map

Bringing the men’s and women’s Olympic ILCA World Championships to Dún Laoghaire represents a substantial organisational undertaking involving both waterfront clubs, Irish Sailing and a major volunteer operation.

It also puts Dublin Bay in front of athletes, coaches and sailing federations from across the world at a time when preparations for Los Angeles 2028 are intensifying.

The Championships are backed by Sport Ireland and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, with XOCEAN, KPMG, the Royal Marine Hotel and Rooster also supporting the event.

There are no grandstands, and the drama takes place some distance offshore, but major sailing events have their own particular value. They bring competitors and support teams into an area for extended periods, utilise local hotels and hospitality and, perhaps most importantly for the sport itself, give young Irish sailors the chance to see the very best in the world operating from the same clubs and slipways they use every weekend.

Sport for Business Perspective

The two ILCA World Championships represent an important proof point for Ireland’s capacity to stage major international sporting events beyond the traditional stadium environment.

Dún Laoghaire already has the infrastructure, club expertise and natural arena of Dublin Bay. Hosting more than 250 of the world’s best Olympic-class sailors across consecutive Championships demonstrates how those assets can be packaged into an international event proposition.

The immediate focus this week will rightly be on McMahon, Murphy and what happens on the water.

The longer-term opportunity is ensuring that a month when the sailing world came to Dublin Bay strengthens Ireland’s case for bringing it back again.

 

 

 

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