Commodore Kevin Monks and his team in Howth Yacht Club banished any thoughts of the Arctic weather outside on Saturday evening (January 4th) when a large and cheerful gathering of members came together to honour the Club's top achievers. This celebration followed on from a presentation to highlight the Club's distinguished Olympic history by the Olympic Federation of Ireland's President Lochlann Walsh, and 2024's Chef de Mission Gavin Noble.

OLYMPIC PRESIDENT'S HOWTH SAILING LINKS

President Walsh immediately captured extra interest by revealing his long-term links with Howth sailing before continuing with his words on Howth's involvement before 2024, when the club sent three sailors to Marseille.

"It is a real pleasure for the OFI to be here today to recognise and honour the Olympians and Para Olympians from Howth Yacht Club" he said.

"It's also a huge personal honour, as my dad Tony was a lifelong member of the club, and this is where I learnt to sail. Some of my earliest memories are of weekends sailing and swimming off Howth 17s, and being allowed to drink coke when we got back to the clubhouse.

"EXCELENCE OF SAILORS AND FACILITIES"

"So Howth Yacht Club has a very special place in our family's memory. It's a club which has long been know for the excellence of its sailors and its facilities, and has a great history of nurturing sailors at all levels. This focus on nurturing talent has led to Howth Yacht Club athletes representing Ireland on the greatest sporting stage of all—the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we are here today to celebrate the remarkable sailors who have carried the Club's legacy across the globe, showcasing their dedication, their skills and their competitive spirit."

HYC SAILING ATHLETES FOR 11 OF PAST 14 OLYMPICS

"The club has provided athletes to Team Ireland for 11 of the past 14 games" continued the President, " stretching right back to 1972…..that really is an exceptional record. And the athletes - these are exceptional people.

"In Paris, we celebrated our 100th year as Team Ireland, and in that time we have had just over 1,000 athletes represent Ireland……to become an Olympian is a truly exceptional achievement and very worthy of honour and respect.

HYC'S OLYMPIC ROLL OF HONOUR

Harry Byrne and Jamie Wilkinson were the trailblazers. Harry was Howth Yacht Club's first Olympian in Munich in 1972, and Jamie followed on when he competed in both Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980. Jamie has the added honour of being Ireland's first winner of an Olympic sailing medal, winning a silver medal with David Wilkins in the Flying Dutchman Class at the Moscow Olympics.

Special mention has to go to Robert Dix; Robert raced at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and joined HYC soon afterwards and has now been a member for 40 years.

David Burrows, Dan O'Grady and Garret Connolly competed Atlanta 1996, and David went on to compete at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 before returning for the London 2012 Games. A four time Olympian!

Tom Fitzpatrick raced in Athens 2004 with Fergal Kinsella competing at the Paralympic Games there that year. In Beijing 2008 Ciara Peelo represented the Club and Scott Flanigan took to the waters in London 2012.

In Toyko 2020 Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove flew the club's flag and they were joined by Eve McMahon in Paris 2024, the club providing three of the four sailors that made up Team Ireland Sailing. We're absolutely delighted that all three have decided to aim to qualify for LA28.

THE TEAM BEHIND THE TEAM

It's an amazing roll of honour to come from one club, and one of the areas we wanted to celebrate during the Paris games was the Team Behind the Team. This includes the families, coaches, friends, NGBs and clubs of the athletes.

Without this Team Behind the Team, no athlete could succeed. So we'd like to recognise Howth Yacht Club and all the coaches, administrators and members who have helped produce such an incredible record of achievement. For more than 50 years, the sailors of Howth Yacht Club have not only represented Ireland with distinction but have also inspired future generations of sailors. This inspiration has helped the club produce new Olympians and also helped grow and sustain the sport of sailing for all".

This article was written by WM Nixon for afloat.ie, and was reprinted with our great appreciation.

For the complete photo album from the Achievers' Awards evening, please follow this link.