The 2026 Canoe Sprint National Championships delivered an exciting day of racing on Saturday, April 25th at Lough Rynn, Co. Leitrim. Bringing together the top flat water racing paddlers in the country, the event featured men’s and women’s racing in Junior, U23, Senior and Masters categories over 200m, 500m and 1000m distances.
The championships once again highlighted the depth of talent emerging within Irish sprint paddling, with strong performances across all age groups. The continued progression of developing athletes reflects the impact of Canoeing Ireland’s Sprint Futures programme, which provides clear opportunities for paddlers to progress through domestic racing and onto the international stage.
Sean Butterly for the second year running took a clean sweep of the U18 races, along with setting the fastest times of the day in the 200m, 500m, and 1000m. Caoilin Caffrey continued her strong start to 2026, taking a clean sweep of U16 titles. There was some exciting racing in the mens U23 with Daibhi Reynolds, Paul Donnellan, Dylan Clarke and Carl Harris fighting it out for the podium across the 200m, 500, and 1000m. In the womens U23 Lucy Cullen in her first year out of junior took the National title in the 1000m and 500m with Eabha Ní Drisceoil pipping her in the 200m. The full results are below with plenty of new national champions crowned, and plenty of promising young paddlers taking to the start line.
A sincere thank you to all the volunteers, officials and supporters whose time and commitment ensured the smooth running and success of the championships.
