The Irish Para Swimming Team has been announced to represent Ireland at the Para Swimming European Championships from 21 to 27 April. Madeira, Portugal will host the European Championships for the third time in 2024 following successful editions in 2016 and 2021. The Championships will offer athletes and teams an important test ahead of the Paralympic Games in Paris later in the year.
Deaton Registe and Dearbhaile Brady will both make their European Championships debuts alongside a team that includes Ellen Keane who will be appearing at what will be her final major regional championships ahead of her planned retirement this summer.
The Irish Para Swimming Team will travel to Madeira, Portugal this month for the European Para Swimming Championships.
The six strong team has been named today with two swimmers making their European debut.
Read more here:https://t.co/2vRvomWqSk @swimireland @keane_ellen— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) April 4, 2024
Registe is the newest member of the Para Swimming team. Madeira will be the first major championship for the Lisburn swimmer where he will take on the 100m breaststroke (SB14).
Sixteen-year-old Dearbhaile Brady will be making her second major championships appearance for Ireland. The young Derry swimmer will be competing in three of the same events as her teammate Nicole Turner and four events in total.
Ellen Keane leads the team as the seasoned veteran with four Paralympic Games under her belt and one more on the horizon. Keane, who won Paralympic gold in Tokyo, will be contesting for a place on the podium in her two events: 100m Freestyle (S9) and 100m Breaststroke (SB8).
Nicole Turner will also bring great experience to the team, competing in what will be the third European Championships of her career. The Paralympic silver medallist will compete in four events over the course of the week.
Tokyo Paralympian and World Champion Róisín Ní Riain will be looking to impress at her second European Championships. She made her debut in Madeira in May 2021 where she won a bronze medal, made five finals and was fourth in 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke. Ní Riain will take to the pool for five events over the course of the championships.
Proud coach - proud family - proud team! 🥈🇮🇪#TheNextLevel | #ThePlaceForGreatness | #RaisingANation | #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/7KMDmFLmiZ
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) July 31, 2023
Tokyo Paralympian and Commonwealth medallist Barry McClements will contest the 100m butterfly and the 100m backstroke in the S9 category.
Speaking on the announcement, Para Swimming Head Coach, Hayley Burke said, “The team have been working hard during the winter season, been away at training camps both as a national team and with home programs so their preparation for Paris is going really well. This European Open Championships provides us with an opportunity to step up midway through the season and assess where we are currently and what we need to do moving into Paris. This is a strong team for Europeans so we’re looking forward to racing fast and seeing some of our competitors in action too.”
