ILCA Ireland – Celebrating 50 Years of Lasers / ILCAs

The first Irish Nationals were held in 1975 in Kinsale and in the same year, the ILCA Class was introduced into BYC. The single-handed one-design class gained a foothold at the club and today, 50 years later, the club still boasts a large fleet of ILCA dinghies, competing year round.

This early start with the now Olympic class dinghy has given BYC a leg up when it comes to producing Olympians and ILCA champions. Eighteen of the forty-nine ILCA Ireland National titles awarded so far have been won by BYC sailors including the current champion, Dan McGaughey. Other BYC winners include: Olympians, Bill O’Hara and James Espey, each of whom has won the National title five times; three time winner Gareth Flannigan and single title holders Alastair Ley, Ryan Seaton, Colin Kevelighan and Liam Glynn. Of course we hope to see many more local champions in the next 50 years!

Performance sailing in Ireland is enjoying a period of exceptional success. Irish sailors have made their mark on the international stage, delivering strong performances at World and European championships and securing qualification across multiple Olympic disciplines for the Paris 2024 Games. The success of standout Ireland athletes such as Annalise Murphy who won Olympic Silver in 2016 and more recently from 2024, Olympians Finn Lynch (currently ranked No 7 in the World) and Eve McMahon (currently World number one in the World Sailing rankings) has inspired a new generation of sailors on the island of Ireland.

Their achievements have helped to strengthen the sport from the grassroots up, supported by a robust development pathway spearheaded by Irish Sailing. On the back of this success Dun Laoghaire will also be the venue for the full ILCA World Championships in 2026.

Mark Lyttle, ILCA UK Chairmn, 2018 Laser Grand Master World Champion and 1996 Olympian, recalls his early 1978 Lough Ree challenges and an epic battle with BYC's Bill O'Hara

"I can’t claim to be at the first Irish Laser Nationals, but I was in Lough Ree in 1978 as a 15-year-old. My recollection was a super windy event, and I raced most of the week in a reefed sail (we wrapped the sail around the mast as there was only one rig back then) and my aim was not to finish last in every race! Luckily, the following year we hardly got 10 knots all event and I hiked non-stop to 10th overall. The Irish Nationals was always the high point of the year, and I sailed 15 of the next 20 until I was 34. We often persuaded sailors we met on our European travels during the summer to come to the event – I especially remember that in 1982 in Galway and 1983 where Phil Douglas won the Open Championship in Crosshaven.

I had a great battle with Bill O’Hara in Ballyholme at this event 40 years ago. The previous year I won for the first time, on home waters, but Bill had only just returned from sailing the Finn in the Olympics in LA so wasn’t the perfect size for the Laser! He was determined to win on home waters – at the time it really mattered to us both. Many years later in 1994 at Dromineer, I broke my tiller extension in the penultimate race. With Bill out of contention, he gave me his extension for the final race – we never wanted someone else to win that title by default.

Much as the Irish Nationals was the premier event and the one we all wanted to win, looking back maybe that wasn’t the most important thing. Instead we learnt resilience and the need to deal with the ups and downs that sport provides – a bigger life lesson. But we also made friends that remain to this day, often on the racing masters circuit. ILCA sailing - truly a sport for life."

Ballyholme sailor Elaine Taylor recounts her early experiences in the class in the 1970s:

“ Trevor (Millar) first introduced me to Lasers in 1977 and thus began the of fun travelling round Ireland to all the Irish events. I used my babysitting money and bought my first boat from McCready Sailboats for £466! She was red and I called her “Miss Elaineous”. Trevor took us all in his builder’s van to the events where we arrived on Friday night, pitched tents,
had a few jars, raced hard, lots of craic and then home and ready to go back to work on Monday for a rest!”