Olympian Eve McMahon was named International Sailor of the Year at the Irish Sailing Awards on Thursday evening at the National Maritime Museum in Dún Laoghaire, recognising a landmark season for the Howth sailor.

McMahon made history in 2025 when she won bronze at the ILCA World Championships in Qingdao, China, becoming the first Irish female sailor to medal at a senior world championship.

Her success was followed by another breakthrough when she climbed to number one in the World Sailing rankings on June 10, the first Irish sailor ever to reach the top of the global standings.

McMahon was unable to attend the awards ceremony as she has already travelled to Palma to begin preparations for the Princess Sofia Regatta, part of the Sailing Grand Slam Series, but reflected on her year in a message shared during the event.

“I am extremely grateful to Sport Ireland, the Irish Sailing Foundation, my sponsors including the Mater Private Network, as well as my coach Vasilij Zbogar and my teammates within Irish Sailing Performance,” McMahon said. “2025 was an incredible year, and I look forward to building on that momentum as the journey continues towards LA2028.”

Dubarry Extension

Cillian Dickson and Team Headcase collected both the Dubarry Team of the Year and Afloat Sailor of the Year awards after a standout season in the J/24 class.

The crew secured both European and World Championship gold during 2025 before adding victory in the Irish Sailing Champions Cup. Their achievements also earned a World Sailing nomination for Team of the Year.

The Headcase crew was praised as an example of teamwork and ambition, bringing together sailors from clubs around Ireland while maintaining a cost-effective campaign.

Dickson accepted the Dubarry Perpetual Trophy for Team of the Year from Michael Walsh of Dubarry Clothing, who also confirmed that the brand will extend its partnership with Irish Sailing into the 2026 season.

Strong Representation for Women in the Sport

The awards ceremony coincided with Women in Sport Week and ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, with women claiming six of the 11 individual honours presented on the night.

Sienna Wright of Howth Yacht Club was named Irish Sailing Foundation Youth Sailor of the Year after winning silver at the ILCA 6 Youth European Championships and finishing sixth at the ILCA Youth World Championships.

The Women on the Water Award went to Sheenagh McNamara of Waterford Harbour Sailing Club in recognition of her work as Junior Organiser, helping to create opportunities for women and under-represented groups to get involved in sailing.

Celebrating Achievement

Irish Sailing CEO Tim Bourke said the awards recognised both high-performance success and the volunteers who underpin the sport.

“It has been another good year for Irish sailing. Both at home and on the international stage, our sailors continue to punch well above their weight, highlighted by a first world number one ranking, a World Championship medal in an Olympic class, and a World Championship gold in the J/24 class,” he said.

“Our awards recognise the people who achieve great things but also the people on the ground and on the water who make our sport function and achievement possible – the club volunteers, officials, parents and organisers.”

Bourke added that it was particularly fitting during Women in Sport Week to celebrate the achievements of McMahon and the other female winners.

“As we look ahead to the 2026 season, the community of Irish Sailing will continue its grassroots development of training, racing and EDI so as to secure the next generation of sailors and achievements at every level.”

Malahide Yacht Club was named Club of the Year after hosting the Watersports Inclusion Games, while Norman Kean of the Irish Cruising Club received the President’s Award.

Other winners included Michael Conway of the National Yacht Club as the inaugural Race Official of the Year, Cormac MacDonncha of Galway Bay Sailing Club as Cruiser of the Year, and Maeve Robinson and Duncan Lyster of the Royal St George Yacht Club for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award.

Mayo Mayhem was named Event of the Year, while Nicola Harris of Waterford Harbour Sailing Club received the Volunteer of the Year award and Jane Hunter of Sutton Dinghy Club was named Instructor of the Year.

The Fireball Class received Class of the Year, Schull Community College was recognised as School of the Year, and Atlantic Marine Training in Greystones was named Irish Sailing Training Centre of the Year.

 

Image Credit: Irish Sailing and Inpho.ie

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