In the community of Irish sailing, few names have resonated as strongly in recent years as that of Eve McMahon. This young sailor has once again proven her mettle by winning the prestigious Irish Sailor of the Year award presented by Irish Sailing on Friday night at their gala Awards night hosted by Howth Yacht Club.

Just a couple of months ago we were so proud to announce that Eve had successfully secured a place for Ireland at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Women's ILCA6 sailing class. This remarkable achievement is a testament to her unwavering dedication, skill, and passion for our sport and she is a very deserved and popular winner of this highest accolade in Irish Sailing.

Despite her impressive track record, McMahon remains humble and focused. In fact, she was unable to attend the award ceremony this year as she was competing in the ILCA U21 European Championships, where she secured a commendable fourth place having led the regatta for two days before being affected by tricky wind conditions. Eve's brother Ewan collected the award on her behalf, with the newly crowned Sailor of the Year on a link from Mallorca.

This is a long season that will culminate in the Olympic Games in Paris, and McMahon has time to reach her peak performance in time for this epic event. Given her past performances and relentless drive, there’s every reason to believe that she will be ready to meet the occasion.

In the words of the CEO of Irish Sailing Tim Bourke: “We are thrilled to have such a wealth of talent represented and celebrated here tonight. Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon’s hugely successful progression from youth to adult sailor is an encouraging reflection of Irish Sailing athlete development and, when you couple that with the amazing achievements of Youth Sailors Ben and Ethan, it gives us a lot to be hopeful about for both this summer and the future of Irish Sailing on the international stage. We are also delighted to have another ten awards representing commitment and success across the many activities of our sport and the recognition of all nominees from the sailing community in these awards is something we can all be proud of.”

In a historic first, the Irish Sailing Awards ceremony was hosted in Howth Yacht Club, marking a departure from the tradition of holding the ceremony in commercial venues and as a club representing the largest sailing membership in Ireland, we are delighted to set the standard for future hosting locations among the Irish yacht clubs.

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our very own Eve McMahon and to all the winners of the Irish Sailing Awards:

• Irish Sailing Youth Sailor of the Year: Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain of Royal Cork Yacht Club and the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire

• Irish Sailing Club of the Year: Galway Bay Sailing Club

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• Irish Sailing Cruise of the Year: Catherine O’Brien of Dungarvan Harbour Sailing Club
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award: Leonie Conway from Sailing into Wellness

• Volunteer of the Year: Aisling Gillen of Sligo Yacht Club

• Senior Instructor of the Year: Sophie Crosbie of Royal Cork Yacht Club
• Class of the Year: Irish Laser Class Association
• Secondary School of the Year: St Andrew’s College in Dublin
• Woman on the Water Award: Aideen Kilkelly of the Galway Hookers Sailing Club
• Irish Sailing Training Centre of the Year: Irish Offshore Sailing

The Irish Sailing President’s Award was awarded to Ailbe Millerick and Eunice Kennedy for their lifetime contribution to the development of Team Racing in Ireland at both school and university level.

Each of these winners embodies outstanding sailing performance and community spirit. They are true champions and ambassadors for the sport of sailing in Ireland. Their achievements and dedication serve as an inspiration, encouraging increased participation in our sport.

Here’s to Eve McMahon, and to all our sailing champions. May they continue to navigate with skill and passion, raising the bar for sailing in Ireland. Congratulations to all!