In addition to Swim Ireland having named its 5-strong roster for the 2018 Short Course World Championships in Hangzhou, China, the organization has also revealed its National Squads for the 2018-19 season.
Following the completion of the 2017-18 season summer benchmark meets, 6 Irish swimmers have received National Squad membership through Tokyo 2020, while 28 additional have earned their squad spot through Paris 2024.
Per Swim Ireland, for National Squad program identification, the following applies:
| National Squad (Performance) 2018-2019 | |||
| Name | Programme | Coach | |
| Calum | Bain | University of Stirling | Bradley Hay |
| Conor | Ferguson | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| Darragh | Greene | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| Brendan | Hyland | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| Mona | McSharry | Marlins (Ballyshannon) | Grace Meade |
| Jordan | Sloan | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| National Squad (Performance Pathway) 2018-2019 | |||
| Name | Programme | Coach | |
| Scarlett | Armstrong | Ards (Newtownards) | Davy Johnston |
| Sadbh | Bailey | New Ross (Wexford) | Fran Ronan |
| James | Brown | Loughborough University | Andi Manley |
| Victoria | Catterson | Ards (Newtownards) | Davy Johnston |
| Uiseann | Cooke | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek |
| Eoin | Corby | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek |
| Niamh | Coyne | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| Edel | Daly | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek |
| Maria | Godden | Kilkenny | Mikey McCarthy |
| Ben | Griffin | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| Ethan | Hansen | Mount Kelly | Emma Collings-Barnes |
| Michael | Hewitt | City of Belfast | Steven McQuillan |
| Danielle | Hill | Larne | Peter Hill |
| Paddy | Johnston | Ards (Newtownards) | Davy Johnston |
| Amelia | Kane | Ards (Newtownards) | Davy Johnston |
| Alfie | Kelly | City of Newcastle | Ryan Livingstone |
| Julia | Knox | Banbridge | Davy Wilson |
| Cadan | McCarthy | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek |
| Ellie | McCartney | Enniskillen | Aaron Rickhuss |
| Finn | McGeever | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek |
| Ellie | McKibbin | Ards (Newtownards) | Davy Johnston |
| Jack | McMillan | Bangor | Paul Dennis |
| Jeremy | O’Connor | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek |
| Cara | Osing | Templeogue (Dublin) | Brian Sweeney |
| Robbie | Powell | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson |
| Rebecca | Reid | Ards (Newtownards) | Davy Johnston |
| Aisling | Rowlands | Trojan (Dublin) | James Lawless |
| Naomi | Trait | Kilkenny | Mikey McCarthy |
| Ellen | Walshe | Templeogue (Dublin) | Brian Sweeney |
| Ben | Woodside | Larne | Peter Hill |
Assistant Coach Matt Coward is also joining Ben Higson, Steven Beckerleg and Beth Carson on deck at National Centre (Dublin) from October, while Mantas Ruikis joins the team as an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach and sports science consultant from this month.
National Performance Director Jon Rudd said, “The small but targeted team that we have travelling into the World Short Course Championships is one which has been selected on each athlete’s current Olympic qualification profile and the journey east will in itself serve as excellent preparation for when Tokyo comes around. The athletes that the Olympic Federation announced on Saturday following our nominations are also four of the best young prospects that we have and they will certainly be part of the mix once it’s game time in Argentina next month. We are also excited about a 36-strong National Squad, as our qualification times for this evolve as we progress to within 2 years of the Tokyo Games and to within 6 years of the Paris Games. To have so many athletes remaining on track and moving into the Squad for the first time is a great sign for the nation’s swimming as a whole. And in terms of the National Centre in Dublin, both Matt and Mantas will add extra depth to our delivery in this key Centre on a day-to-day basis as we move ever closer to Tokyo”
