Clean Sweep in Sight for McSharry, Kelly and Shortt as Walshe Eyes Fourth Title
Mona McSharry (Breaststroke), Jack Kelly (Breaststroke) and John Shortt (Backstroke) remain on course for a clean sweep of titles, while Ellen Walshe targets a fourth gold following the day four heats of the Irish Open Swimming Championships and Commonwealth Games Trials in Bangor.
McSharry, who set a new Irish and Championship Record of 2:22.22 in Friday’s 200m Breaststroke, continued her strong form in the 100m Breaststroke heats, clocking 1:06.33. The swim ranks her as the fourth‑fastest performer in the world this year and was comfortably inside the European Aquatics Championships consideration standard. Ellie McCartney won the penultimate heat in 1:08.80 to progress second overall, while University of Limerick’s Eimear Doyle topped heat three in 1:10.81.
Terenure’s Jack Kelly also kept his bid for a breaststroke triple on track as he was the only swimmer to dip under the one‑minute mark in the 100m Breaststroke. Kelly, already 50m and 200m Breaststroke national champion this week, matched Darragh Greene’s 2024 Championship Record of 59.91 to win his heat and comfortably better the European Championships consideration time of 1:00.65. Greene (Longford) posted the second‑fastest time after winning heat three in 1:01.17, while Bangor’s Adam Bradley claimed heat four and progressed third fastest in 1:01.60, also inside the U20 European Championships consideration standard.
John Shortt leads the qualifiers in the Open 200m Backstroke. The 2025 World Junior and European (SC) Champion, who set a new Irish Record of 1:56.07 in the event at the Giant Open in Paris three weeks ago, cruised to the top spot in 2:00.63. The 19-year-old has now achieved consideration times for all three Backstroke events for the European Championships. Shortt’s National Centre Limerick team-mates Emmet Cousins (2:03.54) and Neddie Irwin (2:05.71) won their heats to progress in second and third.
Grace Davison, already crowned 100m and 200m Freestyle champion this week, will head into this evening’s 200m Backstroke Final as top seed. The 18‑year‑old clocked 2:14.88 to lead the qualifiers, a swim that also dipped under the European Championships consideration time (U20). Davison now holds qualifying times for the European Championships in the 100m and 200m Freestyle as well as the 100m and 200m Backstroke.
National Centre Ulster’s Lottie Cullen (2:16.97) and Trojan’s Ashling McCarthy (2:18.32), who finished first and second in the opening heat, completed the top three qualifiers.
Paris Olympian Victoria Catterson posted the fastest time of the morning as she won heat two of the Female 400m Freestyle. The National Centre Ulster swimmer clocked 4:22.37 to take top seed ahead of Sundays Wells Clare Custer (4:23.34), winner of the 800m Freestyle, and Templeogue’s Ellen Walshe (4:23.72). Already a silver medallist in the 200m Freestyle and bronze medallist in the 100m Freestyle, Catterson will be chasing her first national title of the week. Walshe, meanwhile, will be aiming for a fourth gold, having already claimed national titles in the 100m and 200m Butterfly and the 400m Individual Medley.
Daniel Wiffen and Nathan Wiffen won their heats of the 400m Freestyle and will be the top seeds for the final later today. Daniel was under the consideration time for the European Championships and Commonwealth Games as he clocked 3:50.62. Nathan won his heat in 3:53.93. Second to Daniel in the final heat and third overall in 3:56.70, National Centre Limerick’s Denis O’Brien secured a consideration time (U20) for the European Championships.
International Swimming Events Summer 2026
2026 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland, 24th – 29th July
Consideration Time Achieved: Grace Davison (100m, 200m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke), Daniel Wiffen (400m, 1500m Freestyle), Lottie Cullen (100m Backstroke), Danielle Hill (50m, 100m Backstroke), Ellie McCartney (200m Breaststroke), Conor Ferguson (50m Backstroke)
Initial Qualification Time Achieved: Daniel Wiffen (800m Freestyle), Ellie McCartney (200m IM)
*All swimmers with an initial qualification time will need to compete in the same individual event/s at the 2026 Irish Open Championships to assure the National Performance Director of competitive readiness and achieve the Consideration Time detailed in Table 2 here.
2026 European Aquatics Championships, Paris, France, 10th – 16th August
Consideration Time Achieved: Evan Bailey (100m, 200m Freestyle), Grace Davison (100m, 200m Freestyle, 100m, 200m Backstroke), Jack Cassin (100m, 200m Butterfly), Matthew Hamilton (100m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly), Daniel Wiffen (400m, 1500m Freestyle), Mona McSharry (50m, 100m, 200m Breaststroke), Eoin Corby (50m Breaststroke), Darragh Greene (50m Breaststroke), Jack Kelly (50m Breaststroke), Adam Bradley (50m, 100m Breaststroke), Christian O’Brien (50m Breaststroke), Lottie Cullen (50m, 100m Backstroke), John Shortt (50m, 100m, 200m Backstroke), Ellen Walshe (200m Freestyle, 100m, 200m Butterfly, 400m IM), Liam Custer (400m IM), Danielle Hill (50m, 100m Backstroke), Ellie McCartney (200m Breaststroke), Rosalie Phelan (50m Butterfly), Alana Burns-Atkin (50m, 100m Butterfly), Conor Ferguson (50m Backstroke), Denis O’Brien (400m Freestyle)
Initial Qualification Time Achieved: Daniel Wiffen (800m Freestyle), Ellen Walshe (200m IM), Ellie McCartney (200m IM), Tom Fannon (50m Freestyle), Eoin Corby (100m, 200m Breaststroke)
*All swimmers with an initial qualification time will need to compete in the same individual event/s at the 2026 Irish Open Championships to assure the National Performance Director of competitive readiness and achieve the Consideration Time detailed in Table 2 here.
2026 European Para Swimming Championships, Kocaeli, Turkiye, 7th – 12th September
Qualification Time Achieved: Róisín NíRiain, Barry McClements, Dearbhaile Brady, Deaten Registe, Síomha Brady, Luke Brennan, Ellie Lynch, Luke O’Donoghue
2026 European Junior Aquatics Championships, Germany, 7th – 12th July
Qualification Time Achieved: Clare Custer (800m Freestyle), Maren Clayton Byrne (400m IM), Julia Dziedzic (400m IM), Phelim Hanley (400m IM), Niamh Connery (200m Breaststroke)
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