Athletes
colin kavanagh

Age: 26
World Ranking: 27th
Hometown: Howth, Dublin 
Club: Howth YC 
Coach: Matt McGovern

Robert is the Helm of a 49er that he sails with Seán Waddilove. The pair previously represented Ireland at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where they won two races. Rob learned to sail at an early age on the Shannon in an old wooden Optimist with his family.

The pair Qualified the boat for Paris at the 49er Europeans in November 2023 but only recieved the nomination for Paris after an intense 3-part 49er trial at the Europeans in La Grande Motte this year.

colin kavanagh

Age: 25 
World Ranking: 26th  
Hometown: Skerries, Dublin 
Club: Skerries SC
Coach: Matt McGovern 

Seán is the crew of a 49er he sails with Robert Dickson. The pair previously represented Ireland at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where they won two races. But their success as a pair started early when they became World U23 Champions in Marseille. Seán started sailing at the early age of 8 when his parents booked him onto a Taste of Sailing course in Skerries Sailing Club.

 

colin kavanagh

Age: 28 
World Ranking: 7th (2nd best rank in 2022)
Hometown: Carlow
Club: The National YC 
Coach: Vasijli Zgobar

After achieving the ranking of World No.2 in 2022 Finn went onto qualify Ireland in the ILCA 7 class for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the test event in Marseilles last summer. He is Carlow born but first learned to sail on Blessington Lake at the age of eight in Co. Wicklow. Both of his older brothers went through the Irish Sailing pathway and from an early age he wanted to follow in their footsteps.

He recently recieved a Bronze medal at the ILCA Europeans in Athens

colin kavanagh

Age: 20 
World Ranking: 12th (best to date) 
Hometown: Howth, Dublin 
Club: Howth YC 
Coach: Rory Fitzpatrick 

She is a two-time U21 World Champion in the ILCA 6 Class and is Team Ireland's representative for this class at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This will be her first Olympic Games after qualifying the country in Argentina at the Worlds earlier on this year. 

 

Coaches
colin kavanagh

This is James' 7th Olympic Games working with Irish Sailing.

Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.  

colin kavanagh

Rory is Eve McMahon's ILCA 6 Coach

Rory competed in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games in the Laser Radial which is now the ILCA 7 class. 

colin kavanagh

Matt is the 49er Head Coach for Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove.

Matt competed alongside Ryan Seaton in the 49er class at the both the London and Rio Games. 

Their career included Olympic race wins at London 2012, World Cup medals, European regatta wins and victory in the 2016 Princess Sofia Regatta in the Bay of Palma.

colin kavanagh

Vasilij is Finn Lynch's coach in the ILCA 7 Class. 

He is a 3-time Olympic Medallist having won a bronze in Athens 2004, silver in Beijing 2008 & another silver in Rio 2016 making him the most successful Olympian in Slovenia in the Laser Radial Class (now ILCA 7).