Ellen Walshe recorded two top seed times and set a new Irish Record while Mona McSharry set a new Championship Record as the Irish Open Swimming Championships and Commonwealth Games Trials continued in Bangor on Friday morning.
Templeogue’s Walshe, already a double national champion in Bangor in the 200m Butterfly and 400m Individual Medley, continued her impressive form with a new Irish Record of 1:58.72 in the 200m Freestyle, securing another European Championships consideration time. The two-time Olympian broke her own 2025 record of 1:58.88 and was the only swimmer under the two-minute mark. Grace Davison clocked 2:00.92 to qualify second and achieve another European time, while Victoria Catterson swam 2:01.29 for third.
In the 100m Butterfly heats Walshe swam exactly one minute qualifying as the top seed for the Final ahead of National Centre Ulster’s Alana Burns Atkin (1:00.78) and City of Manchester’s Jessica Calderbank (1:00.83).
Mona McSharry produced her third‑fastest ever swim in the 200m Breaststroke, touching in 2:23.02 to win her heat and eclipse Ellie McCartney’s 2025 Championship Record of 2:24.35. McCartney responded with a heat win of her own in 2:28.93, as both swimmers secured European Championships consideration times, with McCartney also adding a Commonwealth Games standard. Shark’s Niamh Connery was third fastest in the heats in 2:33.37, earning a consideration time for the European Aquatics Junior Championships.
Newly crowned Irish Record holder and national champion in the 50m Breaststroke, Jack Kelly, is on course for a second title on Friday evening after posting the fastest time in the 200m Breaststroke. The Terenure swimmer touched in 2:12.42, just outside the European Aquatics Championships consideration time of 2:12.27. National Centre Ulster’s Lachey Reed and Trojan’s Beau McCabe completed the top three in 2:20.03 and 2:20.12 respectively.
John Shortt topped the Open 50m Backstroke heats to secure top seed for the Final in 25.21. The National Centre Limerick swimmer, who set new Irish and Championship Records in the 100m Backstroke on Thursday, was inside the European Aquatics Championships consideration time of 25.49. Paris Olympian Conor Ferguson advanced as the second‑fastest qualifier in 25.54, just outside the standard.
Larne’s Danielle Hill leads the 50m Backstroke Final after clocking 28.56 in the heats, adding another Commonwealth Games and European Championships consideration swim. Jena Macdougald (UCD) and Lottie Cullen (National Centre Ulster) qualified second and third in 29.04 and 29.13 respectively.
Cormac Rynn (National Centre Limerick) topped the 200m Freestyle standings, producing the fastest swim of the heats and the only time under 1:50 with a 1:49.56 effort. Daniel Wiffen qualified second in 1:50.19, ahead of Irish Record holder Evan Bailey in 1:50.75.
Jack Cassin (National Centre Limerick) won the final heat of the Open 100m Butterfly heats in 53.42 to lead the qualifiers into the final. Heat two winner, Lisburn City’s Matthew Hamilton, is the second fastest qualifier in 53.64, adding a second European Championships Consideration time (U23) to the 100m Freestyle.
Olympic bronze medallist Mona McSharry swam her fastest time ever to set a new Irish and Championship Record in the 200m Breaststroke on Friday in Bangor.
The Marlins swimmer, who is based in Tennessee, dominated the race finishing in 2:22.22, inside her 2024 Irish Record of 2:22.49 and the Championship Record of 2:23.02 she swam in this morning’s heats. The time is the third fastest in the World so far this year behind the USA’s Kate Douglass (2:22.01) and Great Britain’s Angharad Evans (2:22.02)
Speaking after the race the 26-year-old said, “It’s pretty exciting, that 200 Breaststroke is that event where you never really know where it’s going to be on every day, I mean it’s just to nice to see the hard work in training pay off and be able to put together a really good race.”
National Centre Limerick’s Ellie McCartney was second in the 200m Breaststroke Final touching in 2:25.72, under the consideration times for the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, while Shark’s Niamh Connery, who was under the European Junior consideration time in the heats, was third in 2:33.49.
John Shortt secured his second Championship Record of the week with a stunning performance in the 50m Backstroke final, touching in 25.08 to better the previous mark of 25.09 set in 2023. The National Centre Limerick swimmer claimed his second national title of the championships, adding to his Irish and Championship Record and gold medal in the 100m Backstroke.
In second place, Conor Ferguson touched in 25.46, three hundredths of a second under the European Championships and Commonwealth Games consideration time of 25.49.
Another Paris Olympian, Danielle Hill, claimed her first national title of the week with victory in the Women’s 50m Backstroke Final. The Larne swimmer clocked 28.43, dipping under the European Championships and Commonwealth Games consideration time of 28.64. Lottie Cullen (National Centre Ulster), the reigning 100m Backstroke champion, finished second in 28.69, inside the European Championships consideration time, while UCD’s Jenna Macdougald completed the podium in 29.06.
Grace Davison, already crowned 100m Freestyle champion, completed a freestyle double with victory in the 200m Freestyle, touching in 1:59.52 to break the two‑minute barrier for the first time in her career. The 18‑year‑old Ards swimmer now moves to second on Ireland’s all‑time list for the event, behind Irish Record holder Ellen Walshe, with her time also inside the European Championships and Commonwealth Games consideration standards. National Centre Ulster’s Victoria Catterson claimed silver in 2:02.03, while National Centre Limerick’s Danielle Farrell secured bronze in 2:02.62.
100m Freestyle champion Evan Bailey also completed a freestyle double with victory in the Open 200m Freestyle Final, clocking 1:47.81 to dip under the consideration time for the European Aquatics Championships. The National Centre Limerick swimmer led home team‑mate Cormac Rynn, who claimed silver in 1:49.41. Arvin Chahal (Stirling) secured commemorative bronze in 1:50.87, while National Centre Ulster’s Adam Colgan took national bronze in 1:52.57.
Ellen Walshe, who set a new Irish Record in the 200m Freestyle during the morning heats, withdrew from that event to focus on the 100m Butterfly Final, where she secured her third national title of the championships. The Templeogue swimmer, already crowned champion in the 200m Butterfly and 400m Individual Medley, was the only athlete to dip under the one-minute mark, winning in 58.74. Alana Burns Atkin finished second in 1:00.15, with both swimmers recording times inside the European Championships consideration standard. Jessica Calderbank was third in 1:01.13 for commemorative bronze, with national bronze going to National Centre Limerick’s Lucy O’Brien in 1:01.63.
National Centre Limerick’s Jack Cassin added the 100m Butterfly title to the 200m gold he claimed on Wednesday. In a close final, Cassin held off Bangor’s James Ward, touching first in 53.06 to Ward’s 53.19, and once again dipped inside the European Championships consideration time. Lisburn City’s Matthew Hamilton secured bronze in 53.63.
Jack Kelly claimed his second national title of the week as he added 200m Breaststroke gold to the 50m title he secured on Thursday. The Terenure swimmer, who set his first Irish and Championship Record in the 50m Breaststroke final, was dominant throughout, touching first in 2:12.55. National Centre Ulster’s Lachey Reed took silver in 2:18.21, with Dolphin’s Tiernan Moore rounding out the podium in 2:18.49.
