Senior schools relay championships were a massive boost for all swimmers 

The National Senior Schools Relay Championships and Interprovincial Championships once again provided an exhilarating display of teamwork and sportsmanship. 

This highly anticipated event offers a unique opportunity to set aside club rivalries and unite under the banners of schools and regions.

The finals are structured in two distinct formats. 

The morning session is dedicated to the School Relay Championships. 

The camaraderie and spirit of teamwork continue into the afternoon with the Interprovincial Championships. 

Here, individual regional finalists forces to compete as a regional team, shifting their focus from school pride to broader regional representation. 

This format not only highlights the depth of talent within each region but also fosters a strong sense of unity among swimmers who ordinarily are competitors at club level.

The boys from CBC claimed double gold in the Junior age group. 

The team of Eamonn Bradley, Will Egar, Rasmus Jakobsen, and Garvan Gillard each delivered strong performances in a closely contested 200m freestyle final, touching in 1:54.37 ahead of Blackrock College Dublin 1:55.66 and CBS Clonmel 1:55.94. 

The same quartet, with a changed running format, had a more comfortable victory in the 200m Medley Relay, claiming their second gold in 2:09.64, with Blackrock again in second 2:11.21 and Clonmel third. 

The intermediate team, Phelim Hanley, Killian McCarthy, Thomas Bugler, and Neil Fitzpatrick also delivered double gold for CBC.

The girls from Colaiste an Phiarsaigh put in a valiant performance in the 200m freestyle relay to win bronze. 

quartet, Shauna Murphy, Roisin Brannigan, Margaret Verling, and Elin Manson touched in 1:58.94, agonizingly missing out on a silver medal to Our Lady's Terenure, 1:58.44. 

With a change of running order for the medley, where the girls could swim in their individual specialties, they improved their ranking to second, finishing behind Loreto Dalkey.

The boys from Midleton College Ben Coleman, Ricky Fane, Dylan Gunn, and Noah Switzer claimed gold for the school in the senior 200m medley relay. 

Two Cork schools went head-to-head in the intermediate 200m medley relay. A strong lead-off on the backstroke by Poppy Nolan gave Ursuline the lead, which they held through the breaststroke and butterfly legs. 

They had a two second lead on the final transition, but a powerful final freestyle split of 30.76 by Naoise Forde clinched victory for Loretto Fermoy when she stopped the clock at 2:17.47, ahead of Ursuline at 2:17.78. 

Forde's teammates for Fermoy were Emma Crowley, Emily Donohoe, and Aoibhe Holland, while Aine Burke, a junior swimmer, stepped up to complete the Ursuline team.

In the afternoon session, the swimmers came together to swim individual events for their provinces. 

Cork had a strong representation on the Munster team. Adam Mikolaj led the charge for Munster with a second-place finish in the 100m backstroke. 

Aoibh Collins and Tadgh O'Brien also delivered second place finishes in the intermediate category, while Shauna Murphy delivered silver in the senior category.

Luca Power delivered a strong performance in the 400m freestyle to claim the first win for Munster. 

In the final individual event of the day, Power went head-to-head with Leinster's Fionn Byrne in the showcase 100m freestyle final. 

Two-hundredths of a second separated the pair at the halfway point, but a strong final 50m saw Power hit the wall at 53.28 ahead of Byrne at 53.50. Power also led off the senior 200m freestyle relay. 

Accompanied by Noah Switzer, Zac Holmes, and Senan Harvey, they posted 1:37.97 to win ahead of Leinster. 

A change of personnel in the senior medley saw Ben Merrigan and Alex Barrett Harvey and Power, yielding a bronze for the team.

Phelim Hanley was the victor in the 200m IM, while Shauna Murphy and Ricky Fane each delivered second place finishes for the team in the senior event. 

Thomas Bugler had an outstanding swim in the 100m butterfly, touching in 57.25 ahead of Hanley in the intermediate category. Lev Lobanets touched for second in the junior ahead of Garvan Gillard in third. 

Munster finished out the day in strong style, with Tadhg O'Brien winning the intermediate 100m freestyle. 

Dylan McGrath placed second in the junior final ahead of Lobanets, and Lexi Dunne placed third in the female intermediate 100m freestyle.

Munster also had strong performances in the team relays. 

The junior boys Dylan McGrath, Garvan Gillard, Gregory Paramud, and Lev Lobanets secured first place in the 200m freestyle. 

A change of personnel for the medley relay saw Adam Mikolaj and Owen Killen come in and placed second behind the team from Ulster. 

The intermediate girls' team of Ashlee Reddan, Aoibh Collins, Abigael Logan, and Lexi Dunne placed second behind Leinster. 

The senior girls' team of Izzy McGrath, Ruby Swinburne, Shauna Murphy, and Abby Yelverton placed third in the 200m freestyle. 

A switch of personnel for the medley relay saw Rachel Quigley replace Brannigan to swim the breaststroke leg, and the team placed second behind Leinster.

Overall, the combined individual and team results yielded a similar outcome to the 2024 championships, with Munster securing a second place overall finish behind Leinster.