Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Grade I gala in Tralee on the 12^th of March.  A marvellous day out was had by all and a fine haul of medals brought back to South Kerry.

Under 13 Boys – Well done to Nathaniel Doncel who showed some fancy footwork to win a selection-box of medals in this age group, with a gold in the 200 metres Individual Medley, a silver in the 200 metres freestyle and a bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.

Under 15 Girls – Congratulations to Ellen O’Connor who stunned the pool with her awesome speed to take the gold medal in the 100 metres breaststroke.  Another girl in flying form was Aisling Coffey who won a lovely silver in the 200 metres freestyle.  Meanwhile, Eva Quinn (who is rapidly returning to full strength) won bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke.

Under 15 Boys – Ethan O’Neill pulled out all the stops to win a gold medal in the 100 metres backstroke and followed that up with a silver in the 100 metres breaststroke.  Paudie O’Leary won a tough but well-deserved pair of bronze medals in the 200 metres Individual Medley and the 200 metres freestyle.  Charles O’Brien won a beautiful silver in the 200 metres breaststroke but, more importantly, achieved his Division I times.  Well done to Charles and his coach, Cathal O’Brien.  We look forward to following your progress now that you’ve moved into the “big time”!

Girls Over 16 – Margaret O’Brien was in winning form all day, seizing gold in the 200 metres butterfly, bronze in the 200 metres freestyle and another bronze in the long-distance 400 metres freestyle.  Niamh Coffey, the girl with the classy tumble-turns, won a nice set of silver medals in the 200 metres Individual Medley and the 100 metres butterfly.

Boys Over 16 – Robert O’Brien put in some very powerful swims and fully deserved to win his gold in the 200 metres Individual Medley, another gold in the 200 metres breaststroke and the silver medal in the 100 metres breaststroke. Shane Kerins showed that he was a force to be reckoned with in the pool, winning a gold in the 100 metres butterfly and a silver in the very fast 100 metres freestyle.  Meanwhile the up-and-coming Paul O’Leary took a spectacular bronze in the 200 metres breaststroke.

Thanks to our coaches, Cathal O’Brien and Leontia Doody for all their help and patience on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling and helping out.

Killarney Swimming Club members at the Ennis Invitational Gala 24th/25th February 2017 (in no particular order) : – Julie Rose Bowell, Aisling Coffey, Niamh Coffey, Aoife Coffey, Shane Courtney, Donal Daly, Ellen Farndon, Sean Farndon, Pia Hickey, Shane Kerins, Charles O’Brien, Margaret O’Brien, Robert O’Brien, Saibh O’Brien, Ellen O’Connor, Emer O’Dowd, Ethan O’Neill, Alan O’Shea, Eva Quinn, Orlaith Reynolds and our senior coach, Cathal O’Brien.  Missing from the photo are Nathaniel Doncel, Paul O’Leary and Sarah O’Connor.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Ennis Invitational Gala, a two-day event, which took place on the 24^th and 25^th of February.  Some fantastic results and times were achieved by Killarney swimmers.

Under 12 Girls – Always a swimmer we can rely on to produce the goods, Pia Hickey was spectacularly on form winning silver medals in the 200 metres Individual Medley, the 100 metres breaststroke, the 100 metres butterfly, the 50 metres freestyle and rounding all that off with a bronze in the 200 metres freestyle.

Under 14 Girls – Ellen Farndon won a very impressive silver medal in the fastest individual event, the 50 metres freestyle.

Under 14 Boys – Ethan O’Neill took a wonderful gold medal in the 50 metres and also picked up a bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke.  Meanwhile, Charles O’Brien was winning some very tasty medals, taking silver in the 100 metres breaststroke followed by a bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.  Nathaniel Doncel was also showing some fine style, winning a bronze medal in the competitive 200 metres freestyle.

Under 16 Girls – Another swimmer in fine medal-winning form was Margaret O’Brien who won medals in some of the most gruelling races, winning silver in the 800 metres freestyle, silver in the 200 metres Individual Medley, silver in the 100 metres backstroke and bronze in the 400 metres freestyle.  Niamh Coffey stood out from the crowd to win a bronze medal in savagely difficult 100 metres butterfly.

Under 16 Boys – Paul O’Leary hit the podium twice, winning bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke and bronze in the 100 metres butterfly.

Over 17 Boys – Robert O’Brien struck gold for Killarney with an incredible burst of speed at the end of the 200 metres Individual Medley while Alan O’Shea took a very tasty silver in the 100 metres backstroke.

Relays – Well done to our relay teams with Saibh O’Brien, Aisling Coffey, Ellen O’Connor and Pia Hickey winning silver for Killarney in the under 14 Girls 200 metres Medley and Julie Rose Bowell, Eva Quinn, Margaret O’Brien and Niamh Coffey winning a second silver in the under 16 Girls freestyle.  You did us proud!

Thanks as always to our senior coach, Cathal O’Brien, who gave huge support and encouragement to all our swimmers on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling and taking part in the time-keeping.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Grade II gala in Askeaton on the 19^th of February.  There were some substantial improvements by our swimmers on their own “personal best” times for events and a very satisfactory collection of medals.

Under 11 Girls – Jocelyn Hickey was in medal-winning form, taking a bronze medal in the 200 Individual Medley.

Over 14 Girls –Maura O’Keeffe put in some very strong displays in Askeaton, winning a silver medal in both the 100 metres backstroke and the 200 metres Individual Medley.  Meanwhile Marnie Horan also had her name in lights by winning a silver medal in the 100 metres butterfly.

Under 13 Boys – In this age group Killian Spillane stood out from the crowd to win a well-deserved bronze medal in the 200 metres Individual Medley, a very tough race.

Over 14 Boys – Once again, Michael Sweeney was a class act in the pool making the silver medal his own in the 200 metres Individual Medley.

Relays – Well done to our girls team in the under-14 Relay Race who took an incredible bronze in a savagely fought 200 metres freestyle, the fastest race of the day.  It was a wonderful display of power by Maura O’Keeffe, Moya Noctor, Marnie Horan and Clodagh Carroll.

Thanks to our coach, Leontia Doody, who gave huge support and encouragement to all our swimmers on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling and taking part in the time-keeping.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Tipperary Invitational gala on Sunday the 5^th of February.  There were substantial improvements by our swimmers on their own “personal best” times for events and a fine haul of 28 individual medals.

Under 9 Girls – Jocelyn Hickey once again showed us what a fine young swimmer she is by winning gold in the 100 Individual Medley, gold in the 50 metres backstroke, a third gold in the 50 metres butterfly and, finally, a silver in the 100 metres freestyle.

Under 11 Girls – Alison Butler was another girl in great form winning a gold medal in the 50 metres butterfly and a silver in the 100 metres Individual Medley while Faye O’Neill won a very difficult gold medal in the 50 metres backstroke.  Well done, Faye!

Under 11 Boys – Ian Coffey was in flying form to take a lovely silver in the 100 metres breaststroke.

Under 13 Girls – In this category, Clodagh Carroll won a silver medal in the 50 metres breaststroke and a bronze in the 50 metres backstroke while Marnie Horan took a comfortable silver in the 50 metres backstroke.

Under 13 Boys – Michael Sweeney won a very classy gold in the 50 metres backstroke, following that up with a bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.  Meanwhile, Colm Looney went about his business very efficiently to win silver in the 50 metres backstroke and bronze in the 100 metres freestyle. 

Under 15 Boys – Moving up in the age groups, Adam Flynn was very relaxed in the pool, taking home a fine pair of bronze medals in the 50 metres backstroke and the 50 metres breaststroke.

Under 15 Girls – Cliona Murphy was showing some fine pace to win silver in the 100 metres backstroke.  Moya Noctor won a well-deserved and very stylish bronze in the 50 metres breaststroke while Orlaith O’Sullivan was focussing on the longer, harder events to win bronze in the 100 metres freestyle and a second bronze in the 100 metres Individual Medley.

Under 19 Girls – Meadhbh O’Sullivan simply hoovered up the medals in Tipperary, easily winning the gold in the 50 metres breaststroke, silver in the 100 metres Individual Medley, another silver in the 50 metres backstroke and rounding all that off with a bronze in the 100 metres freestyle.  Emma Quirke laid down some markers of her own, taking silver in the 50 metres breaststroke and silver 50 metres butterfly while Rebecca Twomey set out her stall to win the bronze in a very fast 50 metres backstroke.

Thanks to our coaches who gave wonderful support and encouragement to all our swimmers on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Grade I gala in Tralee on Sunday the 29^th of January.  Outside of divisional events – and, of course the nationals – a Grade I is the highest-level gala.  Not surprisingly, competition was stiff but Killarney was well up to the challenge.

Under 13 Girls – Pia Hickey was in sparkling form winning gold in the 100 metres backstroke then a magnificent trio of silver medals in the 200 metres freestyle, the 100 metres butterfly and the 100 metres freestyle!  Well done, Pia.

Under 15 Girls – Ellen Farndon showed a clean pair of heels to win an incredible gold in the 200 metres backstroke.  Meanwhile, Julie Rose Bowell won two snappy silvers, the first in the 200 metres freestyle followed by a second in the 200 metres Individual Medley.  Then it was Emer O’Dowd’s turn to impress taking bronze in the 200 metres Individual Medley and another bronze in the 100 metres butterfly.

Under 15 Boys – Donal Daly was in winning form, putting his name on the board four times to win gold in the 200 metres freestyle, silver in the 200 metres Individual Medley, bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke and another bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.  Then there was Charles O’Brien, who is fast becoming something of a specialist in the breaststroke, and who once again dominated this event by winning gold in the 200 metres breaststroke and another gold in the 100 metres breaststroke.  With some fuel left in the tank, he then won bronze in the 200 metres Individual Medley.

Over 16 Girls – Niamh Coffey was in scintillating form winning an unbelievable pair of golds in the 400 metres freestyle and the 100 metres butterfly and then a pair of silvers in the 200 metres Individual Medley and the 100 metres freestyle.  Margaret O’Brien, as always, shone pure and clear in the tougher, longer races winning golds in the 400 Individual Medley and the 200 metres butterfly and silvers in the 200 metres breaststroke and the 100 metres butterfly.  Orlaith Reynolds took her well-deserved place on the podium by winning bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.

Over 16 Boys – Killarney swimmers simply dominated this, the toughest of all categories.  Shane Kerins seized gold in the 100 metres butterfly and bronze in the 100 metres freestyle.   Robert O’Brien showed some real class taking gold in the 100 metres backstroke and silver in the 200 metres backstroke.  Paul O’Leary was doing the business also, winning silver in the 200 metres breaststroke and bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke.  Then Alan O’Shea hit fifth gear to take a lovely bronze in the 200 metres backstroke

32 medals at a Grade I gala.  Well done, Killarney!  Thanks to our senior coach, Cathal O’Brien, who gave wonderful support and encouragement to all our swimmers on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling and for taking part in the timekeeping.

Congratulations to our swimmers who took part in the Gerry Ryan Invitational Gala in the University of Limerick.   The event took place over two days, the 21^st and 22^nd of January, with nearly 1,000 young swimmers taking part each day.  As this was an “invitation only” gala, with only the best swimmers from all over Ireland taking part, competition was stiff and with scouts from the Munster Development Squad and Swim Ireland silently pacing the poolside, keeping a close eye on the participants, the pressure was on.   As always, Killarney swimmers were in fine form and took to the Olympic-size pool as if it was their natural home.

Under 9 Girls – Well done to Faye O’Neill who was simply superb in the pool and won a treasured gold medal in the 50 metres backstroke and followed that with a silver medal in the 100 metres freestyle.  Certainly, a name for the future.

Under 10 Girls – Jocelyn Hickey was another lady in fine form in Limerick taking bronze in the 50 metres backstroke in the face of some very stiff competition in a difficult age group.     

Under 12 Girls – Pia Hickey is always worth a bit of jewellery at galas and she sure didn’t let us down in Limerick winning a beautiful silver medal in the 50 metres backstroke to add to her collection.

Over 18 Boys – Without doubt the hardest category in Limerick with some of these young men silently harbouring hopes and dreams of Tokyo in 2020, our very own Robert O’Brien gave them all a sharp dose of reality by winning a silver medal in the incredibly difficult 400 metres Individual Medley and then took it a step further with a second silver in the 200 metres backstroke.  Well done, Robert.  A marvellous achievement, fully deserved, and while these medals might have caused a shock amongst some of the big clubs, they came as no surprise to anyone from Killarney.

Thanks to our coaches, Cathal O’Brien and Leontia Doody and assistant coach Shane Kerins for all their help and patience over the two days.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling, dragging and transporting both children and supplies up and down to Limerick on both days.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Grade III gala in UL, Limerick on the 14^th of January, especially to those young swimmers taking part in their first gala.

Under 10 Girls – Jocelyn Hickey had a fantastic day in the pool winning gold medals in both the 100 metres freestyle and the 50 metres butterfly.  Well done Jocelyn!

Under 11 Girls – Ava O’Malley was another swimmer in sparkling form taking gold in the 50 metres freestyle and a second gold in the 50 metres breaststroke.

Under 12 Girls – Alison Butler put on a seriously classy show to win gold in the 100 metres Individual Medley and bronze in the 50 metres butterfly.

Under 14 Girls – Killarney had some very strong performances in this age group with Caitlyn O’Connor totally on fire and winning gold in the 50 metres freestyle, bronze in the 100 metre freestyle and another bronze in the 50 metres breaststroke.  Not to be outdone, Molly Whelan turned on the style to win two lovely silver medals in the 50 metres butterfly and the 100 metres Individual Medley.

Other fine performances were put in by Lily Buckley, Niall Coffey, Roisin Kennedy, Kerry Lynch, Hannah O’Leary, Emma O’Sullivan, Seodhla O’Donovan, Ben Schreiber and Chloe Whelan – certainly all swimmers to watch out for in the future.

Thanks to our senior coach, Cathal O’Brien, and coaches Vicki Dando and Betty McGuire for all the hard work put in during training and on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling to Limerick and taking part in the timekeeping.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Kingdom Open Gala in Tralee on Sunday the 10^th of December.  They faced some stiff competition, especially from the Cork clubs, but still came away with a very credible 17 medals:

Under 11 Girls – Pia Hickey put in some wonderful performances to win gold in the 50 metres freestyle and silver in the 100 metres backstroke.

Under 13 Boys – Paudie O’Leary continued his winning ways to take silver in the 50 metres freestyle and a tasty pair of bronzes in the 100 metres and 200 metres freestyle.  Meanwhile, Ethan O’Neill took bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke in a very difficult race.  Charles O’Brien was spectacular in both the 200 and 100 breaststroke, winning gold in both.  So much so that, as he cruised home in the 200 metre race (knocking a full 28 seconds off his best time), one Cork lady was heard to mutter “Is that lad on steroids or wha’?”

Under 13 Girls – Ellen Farndon took a beautiful bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.

Under 15 Girls – Niamh Coffey was another swimmer in flying form taking silver in the 100 metres butterfly and bronze in the 100 metres backstroke.  Margaret O’Brien also powered to a delightful silver in the 200 metres butterfly – not a race for the faint-hearted.

Under 15 Boys – Killarney boys dominated the 100 metres backstroke with Owen Fitzgerald winning the gold and Sean Farndon the silver.  Well done, lads!

Over 16 Boys – Shane Courtney was sublime winning a lovely set of bronze medals in the 100 and 200 metres butterfly, while Alan O’Shea went home with hard-earned silver in the 200 metres backstroke.

Thanks to our senior coach Cathal O’Brien, coach Leontia Doody and assistant coach Shane Kerins who all gave huge support to the swimmers. Thanks also to all parents for travelling and taking part in the timekeeping.

Our annual Christmas Gala today was a huge success with over 55 children taking part in 10 fun events.  Great credit is due to our coaches Leontia Doody, Vicki Dando and Shane Kerins with a particular thanks to our Master of Ceremonies for the day, Mike O’Sullivan.   The big race, the Family Race, was won again this year by the Coffey family from Muckross, who were presented with the Sean O’Grady Plate at the party afterwards. Thanks to all families who brought along food, sweets, buns, cakes, drinks, everything!  It was a real party.  Spot-prizes were kindly sponsored by The Aura, Muckross House, O’Connor O’Shea Solicitors, Kerry Outdoor Sports, Mods & Minis, Sona Juice Bar, Nike, The GAA Store, and Bags etc.

The prizes were drawn by a particularly fit-looking Santa Claus who has been on a “high-fibre and prune only” diet for the last 12 months and which has shifted a good bit of that ol’ weight, fair dues to him.  He couldn’t stay long.

Finally, we wish everyone a happy and fun-filled Christmas and we’ll see you back in the pool in January 2017.

Reminder to everyone that our annual Christmas Gala is scheduled for this Sunday the 18th of December.  Rumour has it that some squads have been getting in some specialist training ahead of the big events.  Ha!  We know who you are and Mike will be keeping a close eye out for any funny business.

Swimming starts at 10:00 am with the big event, The Family Race, down on the swimming card for just before noon.  As everyone knows, the rules of this rough, tough, competitive race are that three competitors from one family comprise a team, with a minimum of one parent (or grandparent, that’s OK too) and one child on each team.  Also, we will try and have a clean race this year so both biting and scratching is absolutely forbidden.

Our Christmas party will take place afterwards from midday to about 2:00 pm – cakes, buns, chocolates, sandwiches, pizza, presentation of prizes, photos, etc.  We might even have a surprise guest if we can make enough noise!

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Munster Grade II gala in Tralee on the 20^th of November.  As always, it was an exciting day out for all involved with some fine results being posted by Killarney swimmers.

Under 12 Boys – Nathaniel Doncel put Killarney up on the medals table with a lovely bronze in the 100 metres backstroke

Under 13 Girls – Ellen O’Connor, one of our talented up-and-coming young swimmers, was in sublime form taking silver in the 100 metres backstroke and bronze in the 100 metres butterfly and in the process getting her qualifying times in this age group for Grade I galas.  Well done Ellen!  Meanwhile Maura O’Keeffe was showing some serious individual talent of her own to take a bronze medal in the keenly contested 100 metres breaststroke.

Under 14 Girls – We were all delighted to welcome back Eva Quinn who has been out of competition for some time through injury.  Sporting the latest in high performance swimming gear, Eva had something to prove and, boy, did she do just that leaving the opposition cold in the 200 metres Individual Medley to win gold and following that with a second gold in the 100 metres freestyle.  Eva now moves up to Grade I galas in this age group while the rest of us rush out to buy those goggles!

Under 16 Girls – Rebecca Twomey, continuing a good run in form, won a bronze medal in the 200 metres Individual Medley (an incredibly difficult race) and another bronze in the 100 metres backstroke while Meadhbh O’Sullivan took a well-deserved and hard-fought bronze in the 200 metres freestyle.

Thanks to our coach Leontia Doody, and our assistant coach Shane Kerins, who gave wonderful support and encouragement to all our swimmers on the day.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling and for taking part in the timekeeping.

Finally, thanks to all members who supported the Killarney Rotary Club Wine & Art night where Killarney Swimming Club was one of this year’s nominated sports clubs.  Thanks, in particular, to the members of Killarney Rotary Club for nominating us this year.  Your support will help in the purchase of specialist swimming equipment to be used by the members of Killarney Swimming Club for many years to come.