Connacht Minor and Secondary Schools Swimming Competitions

Some of the talented swimmers!

The Connacht Minor School Swimming Championship was held on Saturday January 3rd. 14 very talented young swimmers from Ballinasloe Swimming Club represented 7 National Schools including; Creagh NS, Scoil UI Cheithearnaigh, Kiltormer NS, Menlough NS, Attyrory NS, Duniry NS &  Portumna NS.

This years competitors and results:

Kayla McKeon (Creagh NS) competed in the U9 Girls 50m Freestyle & Backstroke and did very well in her first major gala. She received PB’s in both & she knocked nearly 6 1/2 seconds off her Backstroke. She was just 1.34 seconds off the National Minor Schools’ qualifying time in the Backstroke but she will be U9 again next year and I’m sure all going well she will qualify in both.

Gearóid Markham (Kiltormer NS) competed in the U9 Boys Freestyle & Breaststroke. This was his very first gala and he did very well on the day. Well done Gearóid.

Ava McKeon (Creagh NS) put in a fantastic performance in the U10 Girls 50m Freestyle & Butterfly. She won the Gold in the Freestyle with an impressive time of 36.01 in a very close and exciting heat. She also had the fastest time in the Butterfly with the spectacular time of 40.29. However, despite being over 7 seconds ahead of the next swimmer, she was disqualified over something minor, (she moved her arms but not her feet while on the starting blocks before the starting buzzer). This disqualification will prevent her from competing in the Butterfly in the Nationals but we are appealing this decision as we feel it is unnecessarily harsh.

Tani McCormack (Menlough NS) performed well in the U10 Girls Freestyle & Breaststroke despite recovering from a chest infection. She received a PB in the Breaststroke knocking nearly 2 seconds off her previous time. Good job Tani.

Tara McKeon and Ruth Dolan (Creagh NS) both swam exceptionally well in the U11 Girls 50m Freestyle; Tara came 2nd & won a Silver medal with a great time of 34.43 while Ruth came 3rd & got the Bronze with a great time of 34.59. Ruth also received a Bronze medal in the U11 Girls Backstroke after another splendid performance with a fast time of 41.42. Tara put in another impressive performance in the U11 Girls 50m Butterfly coming in 4th position with a brilliant time of 40.82 (despite dealing with a chest infection in the days preceding the gala).

Caoimhe Kennedy (representing Scoil Uí Cheithearnaigh) put in two marvellous swims in the U11 Girls Freestyle & Breaststroke. She knocked over 5 seconds off her previous PB in the Freestyle and was just 1.78 seconds off the National Minor Schools qualifying record. She also got a PB in her Breaststroke where she improved her time by nearly 4 1/2 seconds. Well done Caoimhe.

Adam McGreal and James Mooney (Creagh NS) both had a marvelous performance in the U11 Boys Freestyle. Adam came 3rd with a splendid time of 34.52 winning the Bronze while James came in 4th position with a great time of 34.80. James had a brilliant swim the U11 Boys 50m Breaststroke; he came in 2nd position & got a Silver medal with a fantastic time of 45.32. Adam once again swam well in the U11 Boys Backstroke where he made the qualifying time for the Nationals.


Conor Harley (Attyory NS) keeps leaping from strength to strength. He had 2 strong swims in the U11 Boys Individual Medley (4 strokes) & the Breaststroke. He was just over 3 1/2 seconds off the National Minor Schools qualifying time in the IM & he also got a PB in his Breaststroke.Alisha Larkin (Duniry NS) put in a fine performance in both the U12 Girls Freestyle & Breaststroke despite just returning to swimming recently after being out for months after surgery on her toe. She narrowly missed the qualifying time for the National Schools in both strokes by just 2 seconds.

Caoimhe Conroy (Portumna NS) had two fantastic swims at her very first gala. She swam in the U12 Girls Freestyle & Breaststroke & got PB’s in both, she knocked 5 seconds off her Freestyle & nearly 9 seconds off her Breaststroke time. Well done Caoimhe.

Erin Kilkenny (Kiltormer NS) also swam exceptionally well in her first gala. She competed in the U12 Girls Freestyle & Backstroke. She also got PB’s in both knocking an incredible 12 1/2 seconds off her Freestyle & 6 1/2 seconds off her Backstroke. Good job Erin.

Alison Markham (Kiltormer NS) also swam in her first gala. She got PB’s in both the U12 Girls Freestyle & Backstroke. She knocked an astonishing 14 seconds off her Freestyle time & 3 1/2 seconds off her Backstroke. Fantastic Job Alison.

U12 Girls Medley & Freestyle Relays

Tara McKeon, Ruth Dolan, Ava McKeon & Ailbhe Hanrahanall put in an outstanding collective performance in the U12 Girls Medley (four strokes) & Freestyle Relays. They came in 4th position in both. The Freestyle relay was particularly exciting with the girls missing out on a Bronze medal by just 2 seconds. These four girls won Gold in the U10 relay at this event last year, they are all U12 again next year and will be in a strong position to fight for the Gold once again.

U12 Boys Medlay & Freestyle Relays

Adam McGreal, James Mooney, Conor Hogan & Luke Galvin all put in a fine performance in the U12 Boys Medley & Freestyle Relays. The boys came 5th in the Medley Relay & 6th in the Freestyle Relay. They will also be under 12 again next year and will be in a stronger position to fight for a Connacht medal like they received in the U10 Relay event last year.

Best of luck to the following who now go on to represent Creagh school at the National Minor School Championshio which will be held in the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin on February 8th.

Ava McKeon U10 Freestyle (and hopefully Butterfly)
Ruth Dolan U11 Freestyle & Backstroke
Tara McKeon U11 Freestyle & Butterfly
Adam McGreal U11 Freestyle & Backstroke
James Mooney U11 Freestyle & Breaststroke

Well done to everyone from Ballinasloe Swimming Club who competed especially those who are relatively new to swimming, you should all be very proud of yourselves.

The Connacht Secondary Schools Swimming Championship took place in Longford on Sunday January 4th.Rowan Harley who is relatively new to the club represented Garbally College in the U13 100m Freestyle. He put in a very good performance and knocked a fantastic12 seconds off his previous best time to get a new PB. Good job Rowan.

Our other entry was Ethan Moran who represented St Raphael’s, Loughrea. Ethan has really committed himself to swimming this year and never misses a training session. Ethan had 2 fantastic swims in the U15 100m Freestyle & Backstroke. His hard work is definitely paying off as he knocked an incredible 9 seconds of his Freestyle with a time of 1.05.10 which qualifies him for the Irish Division 2 championships later in the season. He knocked a whopping 10 seconds off his Backstroke with a very respectable time of 1.19.94. Well done Ethan!


This second photograph shows two swimmers from Ballinasloe Swimming Club who swam in the Connacht Secondary Schools Swimming Championship which took place in Longford on Sunday January 4th.

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