Irish sport had plenty to celebrate over the weekend, from two world titles in showjumping and an Irish athletics record in Copenhagen to European boxing progress and championship success much closer to home.
Here are our Six Irish Champions of the Weekend. This week’s spotlight is supported by Sport for Business Partner in our Coverage of Golf, KPMG.
Sam Widger – World Champion at 16
Sixteen-year-old Waterford rider Sam Widger delivered one of the weekend’s standout performances when he became world champion in the five-year-old class at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships in Lanaken.
Widger, the youngest rider in the competition, guided Vintage van de Heyveldhoeve to victory, finishing just 0.14 seconds from the optimum time. Overall, it was a remarkable Irish performance, with Clare’s Coen Williams taking silver and Niamh McEvoy finishing fourth.
Widger then came close to an extraordinary double, finishing fourth in the six-year-old World Championship with BP Wishes.
Niamh McEvoy – Another Irish World Title
Ireland’s extraordinary Sunday in Lanaken continued when Niamh McEvoy and Easy Peasy Indebus Z were crowned six-year-old world champions.
The Tyrone rider was one of 20 combinations to make the jump-off and produced a clear round in 40.85 seconds, almost a second quicker than Germany’s Angelique Böckmann, who took silver.
Two world titles in a few hours made it an exceptional day for Irish showjumping and reinforced Ireland’s reputation for developing both young riders and young horses.
Darragh McElhinney – Irish Record in Copenhagen
Darragh McElhinney may have finished 16th in a world-class field at the World Athletics Road Running Championships, but his performance in Copenhagen rewrote the Irish record book.
The Bantry AC athlete ran 13:22 for 5km, taking four seconds off the national record of 13:26 set by Alistair Cragg in 2012. McElhinney also lowered his own previous best by 11 seconds.
With Eritrea’s Dawit Seare winning the world title in 12:56 and Jakob Ingebrigtsen among the leaders, Irish distance running was operating in genuinely elite company.
Evelyn Igharo – Impressive European Championship Start
Evelyn Igharo made an emphatic start to her European Elite Boxing Championships in Sofia, defeating Belarusian Aryna Danilchyk to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s 70kg competition.
Igharo won unanimously by 5-0, forcing standing counts in both the second and third rounds. She now faces England’s Chantelle Reid, a 2025 World Championship bronze medallist and 2026 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, with a European medal on the line.
It was part of another productive weekend for Ireland in Sofia, with Jack Marley, Daina Moorehouse, Lisa O’Rourke and Jon McConnell also progressing to medal fights.
Arthur McDonagh – King of the Roads
One of Ireland’s most distinctive sporting championships produced another memorable contest in Ballincurrig, where Arthur McDonagh was crowned King of the Roads in Road Bowling.
McDonagh and Ulster champion Colm Rafferty produced a high-quality final, with both reaching the finishing line in 15 throws, equalling the best performance on the renewed Ballincurrig surface. McDonagh emerged with the title following a contest that went virtually to the final bowl.
It was the 41st staging of the King and Queen of the Roads weekend, an event that continues to showcase one of Ireland’s most deeply rooted indigenous sports.
Rathmore – Ending a 15-Year Wait
Our sixth champion is a team.
Rathmore defeated Dr Crokes by 2-10 to 0-12 at Fitzgerald Stadium to win the Kerry Senior Club Football Championship for the first time since 2011.
Fionn Murphy’s first-half goal gave Rathmore the platform before substitute John Moynihan struck the decisive second goal late in the game. The result also denied Dr Crokes a third successive title.
Fifteen years between county titles made the final-whistle scenes particularly special and earned Rathmore the final place among our Six Irish Champions of the Weekend.
Horse Sport Ireland, Kerry GAA, Athletics Ireland and Boxing Ireland are full members of Sport for Business.
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