Swim Ireland Announces Rosters for Commonwealth Games, European Championships, Youth Olympics

Swim Ireland has today announced the teams of swimmers that will represent Ireland and Northern Ireland at this Summers International Meets.

Two years out from the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, swimmers will compete in European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

2013 World and European medallists Fiona Doyle and Barry Murphy are among a team of 7 that will travel to Berlin, Germany in August to compete in the Senior European Swimming and Open Water Championships. Berlin will see Europe’s top swimmers compete over 7 days of competition at the “Velodrom”. Murphy and Doyle are joined by 2012 Olympian Sycerika McMahon, with Dan Sweeney, Nicholas Quinn and Irish Record holder and multiple national title holder Brendan Hyland in the pool. Ireland’s Open Water Warrior Chris Bryan will contest the 10K and 25K events in the ‘Regattastrecke Grünau’.

Prior to competing at the European Championships Sycerika McMahon will lead a team of ten swimmers representing Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, McMahon has qualified in five events including her favoured 100m Breaststroke. Swimming at the Games will run from the 24^th – 29^th July.

Speaking ahead of the Championships Swim Ireland National Performance Director Peter Banks said “This is always an important year in the Olympic Cycle as we look to what swimmers are on target for the 2016 Games. In the senior meets the Commonwealth Games and Europeans will have some great world class competition available for our swimmers and as always we are looking to the future with the junior swimmers.”

Eight swimmers will compete at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Dordrecht, Holland starting this Wednesday 9^th until the 13^th July. Seven Irish swimmers as well as a women’s relay will compete on the first day of competition including Dearbhail McNamara (50m Breaststroke) and 2013 semi-finalist Laoise Fleming (200m Backstroke) who along with Calum Bain will also compete at the 2014 World Youth Olympics in Nanjing China from the 17^th – 22^nd August. McNamara, aged just 16, had qualified for the European Senior Championships but due to a clash has opted to swim at the Youth Olympics.

Swim Ireland will also send a group of young swimmers to the Canadian Age Group Championships in July to give them experience before they compete at European Juniors and European Youth Olympics in 2015.

Paralympics Ireland will announce the team for the IPC European Championships, August 4^th – 10^th in Eindhoven, in due course.

European Junior Diving Championships, 1^st – 6^th July 2014, Bergamo, Italy

Natasha McManus (Trojan SC/Plymouth Diving)

European Junior Championships, 9^th – 13^th July 2014, Dordrecht, Holland

Dearbhail McNamara (Castlebar SC), Niamh Kilgallen (Claremorris SC), Gemma Kane (Bangor SC) Ben Griffin (Aer Lingus SC), Danielle Hill (Larne ASC), Laoise Fleming (Kells SC/SI NAC PC), James Brown (Ards ASC), Emma Reid (Ards ASC)

European Junior Open Water Championships, 18^th July 2014, Zagreb, Croatia

Ethan O’Brien (Limerick SC/SI UL Sport PC)

Commonwealth Games, 23^rd July – 4^th August, Glasgow, Scotland

Sycerika McMahon (Leander ASC/Texas A&M), Michael Dawson (Ards ASC), Curtis Coulter (Ards ASC), Jordan Sloan (Bangor ASC), Gemma Kane (Bangor SC), Danielle Hill (Larne ASC), Rachel Bethel (Lisburn City ASC), David Thompson (Invictus ASC), Conor Munn (Ards ASC), Bethany Firth (Ards ASC).

Canadian Age Group Championships, 23^rd – 28^th July 2014, Montreal, Canada

Robert Powell (Athlone SC), Gerry Quinn (Longford SC), Katie Baguley (Glenalbyn SC), Mona McSharry (Marlins ASC), Antoinette Neamt (Tallaght SC/SI NAC PC), Bryan O’Sullivan (Galway SC), Niamh Coyne (Tallaght SC), Andrew Moore (Galway SC), Rebecca Reid (Ards ASC), Conor Ferguson (Larne ASC), Rory McEvoy (Ennis SC), Ciara Doran (Limerick SC).

Portuguese Open Championships, 24^th – 27^th July 2014, Portugal

Clodagh Flood (Tallaght SC/SI NAC PC)

European LC Swimming & Open Water Championships, 13^th– 24^th August 2014, Berlin, Germany

Brendan Hyland (Tallaght SC/SI NAC PC), Dan Sweeney (Sundays Well SC/Loughborough) Nicholas Quinn (Castlebar SC/Uni of Edinburgh) Barry Murphy (Aer Lingus SC/SI NAC PC) Fiona Doyle (Portmarnock SC/University of Calgary), Sycerika McMahon (Leander ASC/Texas A&M),

Christopher Bryan – Open Water – (Ennis SC/SI UL Sport PC)

Youth Olympic Games, 17^th – 22^nd August 2014, Nanjing, China

Dearbhail McNamara (Castlebar SC), Calum Bain (Dungannon AC), Laoise Fleming (Kells SC/SI NAC PC)

The above is a press release submitted by Swim Ireland.