Ireland and sailing reached a pinnacle when Annalise Murphy received a silver medal in the Olympics in August 2016. Sailing received due attention in the country and the public interest as well. The Medal race was watched with great interest by most people of the Rio Olympic event.
Annalise Murphy had been received well with garlands and national award honors as well as elevated to the status of Volvo Sailor of the Year. The awards ceremony was held in Dublin on the last Friday of January. This helped to resurface some of the attention that had initially been grabbed after Rio was completed.
The awards ceremony brought in sailing professionals from different parts of the country and helped refresh the minds of people that much talent exists in the country in competitive sailing. For instance, Annalise Murphy as well as Ewan MacMahon was awarded who was acclaimed as Youth Sailor of the Year. The shared enthusiasm among professionals in the same sport made the evening special.
Even if sailing is considered a minor sport in the country (it’s not quite as popular as sailing in Croatia), this event helped highlight feats and accomplishments of several in this sport that has represented the country in international events. There were erstwhile champions present as well, such as Admiral of Royal Cork who was active in the late eighties and had been All Ireland Helmsman Champion in 1950. He also saw his granddaughter take the accolades for her achievement in the category of Topper racing.
There were several others who received accolades and it was heartening to see that the community received some attention and hopefully, increased chances of raising funds and increasing competitive sailing activities in the country. That will surely help make use of the ports and bat areas that exist in the country which make it ideal for different boating and sailing activities.