Maeve Donagh Crowned Irish Optimist National Champion at Lough Ree Yacht Club
198 sailors across four fleets for four days of sun-soaked racing deliver standout performances across all fleets at the 2025 Irish Optimist Nationals
Maeve Donagh (RSGYC/LDYC) has been crowned Irish Optimist National Champion after an impressive showing at the 2025 Optimist National Championships, hosted by Lough Ree Yacht Club. The event, which brought together nearly 200 young sailors from across Ireland, was marked by champagne sailing, tight competition, and a strong sense of camaraderie with sailors from Ireland, the UK, France and Belgium aged from 7-15 years.
Special thanks go to Race Officer Nigel Biggs and his team, who set quality courses in challenging wind shifts, ensuring fairness and fun across all four fleets.
Over four days, sailors were treated to classic Lough Ree conditions—shifty, tactical, and demanding—requiring focus, consistency, and a bit of patience. Despite no racing on Friday due to light winds, the sailors and their families made the most of the downtime with a trip to Baysports for swimming, paddleboarding, and tubing, while the mums used the off day for a delicious lakeside lunch at the Wineport Lodge, arriving in style thanks to Viking Tours Ireland.
In the Senior Fleet, Maeve Donagh of RSGYC & LDYC stood out from the start. With four race wins and impressive consistency, she secured the Irish National title, leading an all-Donagh podium with sisters Emily Donagh in second and Lily Donagh in third.
Though Donagh took the national championship, the Senior Open title went to Lochlainn Hanley of French Club CVSQ, as well as host club LRYC, who also achieved four bullets across the eight-race series and held off the Donagh trio to claim overall line honours.
The Senior racing was tight throughout, with a shifting breeze keeping sailors on their toes and race wins spread across the fleet. The final leaderboard reflected not just skill but serious determination across all competitors. For the first time, the fleet collaborated with Trac Trac to install waterproof trackers on each boat, allowing sailors to review and learn from their races. This move was met with excitement amongst competitors and spectators alike, as you could follow the 130 main fleet boats’ progress in real time.
In the Junior Fleet, Dylan O’Sullivan of RCYC secured the Irish Junior National title with a string of top finishes. He was closely followed by George Creighton and Louis Trickett, who each picked up race wins in a fleet where no lead was safe, and five different sailors got bullets across the series.
Racing was intense with 83 boats on the start, but our young sailors showed growing tactical maturity in the demanding hot and light conditions.
Regatta Fleets – Developing Talent on Display
The Regatta Fleets brought fantastic energy to the event. With 61 sailors split between the Racing Regatta and Coached fleets, this was where fun and learning took centre stage under the tutelage of Lead Coach Adam Walsh and his team of instructors.
GBR’s Sebastian Richardson took home the Open Championship, with Olivia Knibb and Zachary Fox second and third on the water in what was the busiest Regatta Racing fleet in years. With almost 40 boats travelling across all fleets from the UK, 10 from France and 2 from Belgium, the international turnout was fantastic — huge thanks to all who travelled and helped make the event such a success.
In the Racing Regatta Fleet, Willow Murray of SDC and HYC was the first Irish boat, with John Sheridan of WHSC and Ciaran Keating of RCYC close behind in the 10-race series.
Coached Regatta Sailors were awarded prizes as follows:
Best U7: Margot McCarthy (Parkstone Yacht Club)
Best U8: Edie Bruen ( RCYC)
Best U9: Heidi Murray (SDC and HYC)
Best U10: Jamie Scallan (Monkstown Bay SC)
Best U11: Dillon Rosenkowitz (Waterford Harbour SC)
Best local sailor: Thomas Mellett
Sportsmanship: Beatrice O Sullivan
Perserverance prize: Matthew Arthurs
The fleet’s enthusiasm and resilience were evident to see, especially with many tackling their first national event under the gentle coaching of Jenna Reid.
A Festival of Sailing – On and Off the Water
The real success of the Lough Ree Nationals was the spirit of the event. With fantastic support from IODAI, LRYC, and a dedicated team of 90 volunteers, the regatta ran smoothly in varied conditions.
The event wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of sponsors. Title sponsor Covy Wetsuits were on site all week and provided sought-after snoods for goodie bags. McWilliams, Dubarry, 4orm Clothing, TY Toys, Revive Active, and McSharry Pharmacy Athlone helped deliver the hugely popular “In It To Win It” daily prize draws, keeping spirits high even after long days on the water.
Looking Ahead – Kinsale Up Next
With Nationals now wrapped up, all eyes turn to the final regional of the year, taking place at Kinsale Yacht Club on September 13–14th. Entries are open now at iodai.com, and the early bird deadline closes this Friday.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to every sailor, parent, coach, and volunteer who helped make the 2025 Irish Optimist Nationals one to remember. Whether on the podium or not, every sailor left Lough Ree with more experience, new friendships, and a few good stories to tell.
See you in Kinsale!
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