Lakelanders light up the NAC at Irish Open
19 Apr 2025
Lakelanders light up the NAC at Irish Open
Swim Ireland’s Irish Open Swimming Championships started on Saturday (12th April) at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre in Dublin. The 5-day event saw over three hundred swimmers from over fifty clubs compete for National titles in thirty-four individual events. The competition saw twelve Championship Records broken as well as three Irish Senior and four Irish Junior Records across the five days of racing as swimmers aimed for places on Senior National Teams. This meet is also the first opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Regional and National programmes for the 2025-2026 season. Three swimmers from the local Enniskillen Lakelanders swim club attended the prestigious meet keen to compete with the best in the country and witness some of the top swimmers the world in action.
Kate McDade (16) made a lasting impression competing across three events, proving herself to be one of the best junior breaststrokers in Ireland. Impressively Kate swam new PBs and qualified for finals in all three events, securing her place on Ulster squad for the coming season. In her 200m Individual Medley, a total of 3.5 seconds PB across heats and final resulted in a top ten finish.
A solid swim in the 100m Breaststroke heats secured a spot in the junior final, finishing in fourth position.
Kate saved the best to last where she excelled in the 200m Breaststroke event. PBs in both the heats and semi-finals, saw Kate soar up the rankings to take her place in the Open final. Showing true grit and determination in a fiercely contested battle, Kate was proud to represent Enniskillen Lakelanders on the podium to receive a Irish Open Junior Silver medal, standing beside her former teammate and inspiration, Ellie Mc Cartney.
This success was bittersweet, given the breaking news about the forum closure. Kate, with such a promising and bright future ahead, faces a challenging decision about her swimming future.
Ellie Dunlop (16) enjoyed her experience at the Irish Open where she held her PB in the 100m Breaststroke and was delighted to reach the B finals in the 50m Breaststroke event amongst a very competitive field. Ellie is hoping she will still be able to put the required training hours despite the closure of her home pool.
Hannah Lynch (16) competed in the 400m and 800m Freestyle events. She was delighted to finish 12th overall in the 800m Freestyle and was the fastest 16 year old just missing out on a place in the final.
Enniskillen Lakelanders Gala Secretary Michelle Reihill praised the maturity and resilience of the swimmers, their performances proving poignant against the backdrop of uncertainty around future training plans with the closure of their home pool for a period of three years. The girls determination to succeed continues to show our younger swimmers a shining example of what can be achieved from consistent hard work in training.
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