
Success for Lakelanders at Sliabh Beagh Winter Gala
03 Dec 2023
Success for Lakelanders at Sliabh Beagh Winter Gala

(Missing from the photo: Ava Neal)
8 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers made the journey through the frosty countryside to the Coral Leisure Centre Monaghan for Sliabh Beagh Swimming Club’s Winter Cluster Meet on Sunday 3rd December.
Enda Burke (13) shaved a whopping 14 seconds off his 100m Backstroke PB and followed that with another PB in the 100m Breaststroke race.
Older brother Senan Burke (15) claimed new PBs in both 100m Backstroke and 200m Freestyle events, maintaining his time in the 100m Breaststroke.
Josh Cassidy (13) secured a 9 second PB in the 200m Freestyle and maintained his 100m Breaststroke PB.

Kiril Chursin (17) hit the wall in top position in the 100m Breaststroke race, claiming the gold medal.
Russell Mikievicz Lumayad (13) collected a new PB in the 200m Individual Medley and maintained his seed times in the 100m Backstroke and 100m Breaststroke events.
James Mongan (16) secured a new PB in the 400m Freestyle race and maintained his times in 100m Backstroke and 100m Breaststroke.
Ava Neal (13) claimed a gold medal and a new PB when she hit the wall first in the 400m Freestyle race.
Conal Walker (15) was pleased to claim new PBs in both the 100m Breaststroke and 200m Freestyle events.
Enniskillen Lakelanders’ Head Coach Ben Wiffen was pleased to see the swimmers avail of the opportunity to push themselves to try longer distance races, developing strategic approaches to these challenging events to great success.
There is great excitement for Ben this week as his brothers, twin superstar swimmers Daniel and Nathan Wiffen are firm favourites for success at the European Shortcourse Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
On the home front, Enniskillen will be well represented at the Irish National Winter Championships as a number of Lakelanders’ swimmers will travel to the National Aquatic Centre to compete the following weekend.
A squad of 33 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended the Swim Belfast Open Meet on Sunday the 15th of February in Lagan Valley Leisureplex, Lisburn. The gala was a great success for the Fermanagh swimmers who relished the opportunity to compete against swimmers from clubs across Ulster, Leinster & Connacht, returned home with numerous medals and personal best times.
Local Swimmers Sparkle for their Schools as Past & Present Lakelanders lead the way for Fermanagh at Swim Ulster’s Senior Schools’ Cup & Championships in Bangor
The Swim Ulster Schools Cup & Championships 2026 took place on Friday 6th February at Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex Bangor. Over 1000 swimmers from more than 130 schools across the province of Ulster took part in the one day event. Three local schools were part of the action with 22 local swimmers taking part.
On Saturday 31st January, 13 young swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club competed in Round 3 of the Swim Ulster Future Challengers Series at Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre, Belfast. The meet attracted over 450 swimmers aged 10–14 from across Ulster, all taking on the more challenging events of Individual Medley (IM), Backstroke and Butterfly.
The Lakelanders squad rose to the occasion, relishing the opportunity to race against strong provincial competition while aiming for personal best performances.
6 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers competed at Swim Ulster’s Open Long Course Meet at the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex in Bangor on the 24 & 25th January. Swimmers from clubs all over Ireland attended this exciting start to the Long Course season and the Lakelanders were eager to race their fellow athletes in the fabulous 10 lane 50m pool at the Aurora.
A strong squad of Lakelanders junior swimmers took part in Swim Ulster Future Challengers Meet 2 at Omagh Leisure Centre on Saturday.
Coach Chelsey Weir was there to support the young swimmers who brought home a substantial haul of medal award pins and a raft of new personal times.
6 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers made the journey to the Coral Leisure Centre Monaghan for Sliabh Beagh Swimming Club’s Winter Cluster Meet on 6th & 7th December.
Swim Ulster Primary Schools Cup and Championship was held at the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex, Bangor on Saturday 29th November 2025. Excited for this opportunity to represent their schools, 22 swimmers across 10 local schools headed to Bangor determined to do the South-West proud and qualify for the All-Ireland Championships held in Dublin in March. Although a school competition, all the students attending are committed members of the Enniskillen Lakelanders swimming club and mustered all their skills and training in competing against the best swimmers from schools across Ulster. A successful day saw 4 podium finishes and an amazing number of swimmers qualify for the All-Ireland primary school championship to be held at the National Aquatic Centre Dublin next year.
A squad of 10 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended Dungannon Swimming Club’s 40th Anniversary Gala on Sunday the 9th November at Dungannon Leisure Centre. The gala was a great success for the young swimmers who returned home with numerous personal bests.
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club held their Autumn Junior Gala on Sunday 26th October, an event aimed at younger swimmers. This was the club’s first Gala in their new temporary base at Omagh Leisure Centre and there was much excitement among the swimmers from the outset with 37 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders taking part. They were joined by competitors from nine other Ulster swimming clubs. For many of the 8-14 year-old competitors, this would be one their first experiences of individual competition, that all important first step for every sportsperson.
11 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders swimming club made their way to the Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre in Belfast to compete at Swim Ulster's Aspiring Champions Meet; the first Gala of the season for swimmers aged 13 and over. The event was held over two days, 18th & 19th October. Coaches across Ulster use this gala to assess and monitor swimmers' skills, providing the scaffolding for the building blocks for success in the coming season.
All the work so far on skills and technique resulted in a slew of Swim Ulster Awards, personal bests and many top ten finishes for the Enniskillen Lakelanders.