By David Kearns, Digital Journalist/Media Officer, UCD University Relations

The UCD Ad Astra and Howth sailor was nominated for her phenomenal performance in 2023, which included her winning the U21 World Championships and securing a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer.

The BComm International student emerged as the victor at the ICLA U21 World Championships last October after six days of challenging races off the coast of Tangiers, Morocco. 

Her first gold medal of 2023, McMahon wrapped up the championship ahead of her race rivals despite capsizing during one of her 11 races.

A nominee for RTÉ Sport Young Sportsperson of the Year award in 2022, the UCD student won a hat-trick of gold medals the same year.

“Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon’s hugely successful progression from youth to adult sailor is an encouraging reflection of Irish Sailing athlete development and, when you couple that with the amazing achievements of Youth Sailors Ben and Ethan, it gives us a lot to be hopeful about for both this summer and the future of Irish Sailing on the international stage,” said Tim Bourke, CEO of Irish Sailing.

“We are also delighted to have another ten awards representing commitment and success across the many activities of our sport and the recognition of all nominees from the sailing community in these awards is something we can all be proud of.”

Presented by Afloat Magazine, the Irish Sailing Awards were held at Howth Yacht Club in Dublin this month, and the full list of winners at the 2023 Irish Sailing Awards is available here.