McCullagh International 2024 – Preview

Swim Ireland and Swim Ulster will welcome over 500 swimmers from 62 clubs to the Bangor Aurora Swimming Complex in Co. Down for an action packed four days of racing at the McCullagh International, taking place from Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th April.

The meet will act as Ireland’s final qualification opportunity for this year’s junior Summer international meets, including the European Aquatics Junior Swimming and Open Water Championships.

For Ireland’s senior swimmers, it will be an excellent opportunity to tune up for the Irish Open Championships and Olympic Trials, taking place from 22-26 May.

The McCullagh International provides a fantastic opportunity for many athletes to compete in a major long course competition for the first time in 2024.  Some of Ireland’s top swimmers will be in action as Tokyo Olympians Danielle Hill, Ellen Walshe and Finn McGeever compete, as well as Doha World Championships swimmers Conor Ferguson, Eoin Corby, Grace Davison, John Shortt, Maria Godden, Tom Fannon and Victoria Catterson featuring over the course of the weekend.

The four-day meet will also provide Irish swimmers and clubs an opportunity to battle it out for National relay titles.

Speaking ahead of the McCullagh International, Swim Ireland National Performance Director Jon Rudd said, “Other than for those junior athletes that competed at the World Championships in July 2023 or February 2024, the fact that the McCullagh International will be their National Team Trials for a chance to represent Ireland this summer, this certainly brings extra spice to the competition this year. Our senior athletes, looking for Olympic berths in Paris and European selections for Belgrade in May, will welcome a high level racing opportunity on home soil, with the addition of numerous international athletes making the journey to Northern Ireland making this prospect even more exciting. As we get close to the summer, with many National Team places up for grabs, Bangor Aurora will be the place to be this weekend for any Irish swimming fan”.