Sport Ireland Announce 2026 Core Grant Investment

On Wednesday, Sport Ireland announced an investment of over €33M to National Governing Bodies for Sport (NGBs) and to the network of Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) for 2026 with Swim Ireland receiving an increase of 6% on 2025.

This funding is core to Swim Ireland’s operations and enables the organisation to deliver business‑as‑usual activities, including providing support and guidance to clubs, volunteers, and athletes, as well as the rollout of education programmes and courses. We are particularly delighted to also implement several key new projects in 2026, including:

Deliver a Safeguarding Conference in May, alongside the appointment of a new part-time Safeguarding staff member to provide additional operational support.

Strengthen our focus on disability swimming at grassroots level and within the para swimming pathway through the introduction of a new Sport Inclusion Disability Officer role.

Further develop and embed our sustainability initiatives across the organisation.

Launch our Open Water Strategy and continue to expand and enhance the Open Water events calendar.

We were also pleased to hear Minister O’Donovan highlight the critical need for investment in swimming infrastructure, including the development of an additional 50m pool on the island, following the launch of our Gap Analysis Report in December.

Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane and Interim CEO Mary McMorrow attended today’s announcement.

Swim Ireland are very grateful for the investment and would like to thank Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister Charlie McConalogue TD and the staff at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, Sport Ireland CEO Dr Una May and the board and staff, , for their continued support and recognition of Swim Ireland as one of the leading NGBs in Ireland.

Read the Core Funding Investment Brochure

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