The Echo and local clubs honoured at Swim Ireland awards

By Echo Reporter

THE ECHO Newspaper together with Templeogue and Tallaght Swim Clubs were among those honoured at the annual Swim Ireland Awards Night in Titanic Belfast on Friday.

The Echo scooped the ‘Local Media Award’ while Templeogue were among the ‘Clubmark’ Award recipients and Tallaght Swim Club Chairman Phillip Fitzpatrick was named National/Regional Volunteer of the Year.

“We’re very fortunate that we have such strong swimming clubs in our community who have produced some great competitors over the years” said The Echo Sports Editor Stephen Leonard.

“These clubs also have a great network or volunteers and coaches who give so much of their time to developing talented swimmers and promoting their achievements” he added.

Olympic Games qualifier Fiona Doyle and Larne’s Conor Ferguson were named Senior and Junior Perform-ance Athletes of the Year.

2015 World Championship Bronze medallist and 2016 Paralympic Games qualifier Ellen Keane collected the Disability Swimmer of the Year Award; Anne Burdis of Portmarnock Swimming Club was the first female to collect the Club Coach of the Year Award; UCD Swimming Coach Earl McCarthy was named Performance Coach of the Year; Club of the Year was Banbridge ASC and Club Volunteer of the Year Caitriona McMahon.

The 2016 inductees into the Swim Ireland Hall of Fame were Peter Banks and Eddie Heron.

Peter Banks, Swim Ireland National Perform-ance Director, has coached age-group, National, Inter-national and Olympic swimmers including Amer-icans Brooke Bennett, winner of three Olympic gold medals, and Maritza Correia, silver medalist as part of the USA Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Team Relay (2004 Athens).
The late Eddie Heron was the last and only diver to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games in London in 1948 and Ireland’s current Olympic qualifier in Diving, Oliver Dingley, presented the award.