SCHULL Community College has been named School of the Year 2025 by the Irish Sailing Association at an awards ceremony held last Thursday in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland in Dún Laoghaire.
The award recognises the school’s outstanding leadership in schools sailing and its continued success in developing talented young sailors while maintaining a proud tradition in team racing.
The honour came just days after another major achievement on the water. At the Munster Schools Team Racing Championship, held in Schull Harbour and hosted by the Irish Schools Sailing Association at the Fastnet Marine Outdoor Education Centre, Schull Community College sailors delivered an exceptional performance where fifteen teams competed across 60 races in a full day of mixed sailing conditions, from rain showers to bright sunshine. All four Schull teams finished at the top of the table in an extraordinary display of depth and skill. Both SCC Sharks and SCC Seals recorded a perfect 100% win rate across their races, with the Sharks ultimately taking gold on points difference and the Seals securing silver. SCC Orcas and SCC Marines narrowly missed out on bronze after a tight points tie-break.
ADVERTISEMENT
The success reflects the growing strength of the school’s team racing programme, which now includes 24 young sailors. Behind the scenes, huge work continues to be done by teachers Clodagh O’Driscoll and Geraldine Hurley with support from staff Sinéad Scully, Tim Lowney and Luke O’Connor from Fastnet Marine Outdoor Education Centre.
Parents and other members of the community have also played a vital role in this success, volunteering in a wide range of roles to support training sessions, events, catering and logistics. Chief among these are parents Clinton Copithorne, Oli O’Driscoll and Kelvin Harrap, along with a number of past SCC sailors who generously return to share their sailing expertise with the current squad.
With momentum building, the focus now turns to upcoming National Team Racing Championships, while Schull will also host the Fastnet Trophy this April for the second year running, another exciting event on the Irish schools sailing calendar.
