Foundation Orienteering Instructor Courses
Orienteering Ireland is super excited to be rolling out its new Foundation Orienteering Instructor Award and will be running two pilot courses in Cork and Dublin this Autumn.
This is an entry level award and is the initial step on the coaching pathway. It aims to train candidates in the fundamentals of coaching and to equip them in assisting in the running of various orienteering activities / training sessions / programmes.
This qualification is aligned with Level 0 on the Sport Ireland Coaching Adventure Sports CDPI awards framework.
The award is aimed at:
- Orienteering Ireland club members.
- Third level students involved with orienteering in their colleges.
- Outdoor education staff / scout leaders / youth leaders
- LSP staff/tutors keen to deliver orienteering activities.
Two pilot courses are being run in Cork and Dublin, each course consisting of an evening online session followed by a fun interactive hands-on training day.
Registration is through Eventbrite through the links above.
Kerry Festival of Orienteering
Wishing Kerry Orienteers the very best as the Kerry Festival of Orienteering, incorporating the OOCup, kicks off this Saturday, 25th July, in Killarney.
With 2000 people registered from 35 countries it will be the biggest orienteering event ever hosted in Ireland.
The festival kicks off Saturday afternoon with the Indoor / Outdoor event in St. Brendan’s College in Killarney. The indoor orienteering is like 3D orienteering conducted over multiple stories of St. Brendan’s College. It will be a unique experience for Irish orienteers to try out this fun but complex form of orienteering.
This will be followed by the 5 day OOCup, with three events at Inchacoosh/Kilgarvan Wind Farm and a further 2 days on Crohane mountain
The festival wraps up with an urban event around the street of Killarney on Friday morning, 31st July.
KerryO has put together a large pool of volunteers from across the orienteering community and beyond to make this festival a huge success.
Here’s to a great week of orienteering for all the competitors, organisers and visitors.
Rescheduled Irish Championships 2026 – entries open
Entries for the rescheduled Irish Orienteering Relay and Classic Distance Championships on August 29th and 30th have now opened on the Fabian4 website.
All competitors need to re-enter for the new dates at:
Relays: https://fabian4.co.uk/default.aspx?EventID=4286
Classic: https://fabian4.co.uk/default.aspx?EventID=4285
Due to fixed costs associated with running the May competitions we are refunding 80% of the entry fees for those events, the good news is that we are reducing the entry fees of the rescheduled events to 80% of the original fees. We would also welcome any new individuals, teams or families, who had not registered for the May events, to join us for the rescheduled events in August. Fabian4 will process the refunds over the coming days.
Early bird entries for the Classic will close on Friday 31st July @ 23:59. The final entry deadline for the Classic is Friday 14th August @ 23:59. Relay team entries will close on Friday 21st August @ 23:59. Team declarations then need to be completed online at Fabian4 by Wednesday 26th August @ 23:59.
Course information for the rescheduled competitions is included in the original Final Information document that was published in April (link available on our website). Winning times are likely to be longer than originally planned, due to growth of vegetation over the summer months. Arrangements for parking and getting to the Assembly Area may be updated closer to the competition date. For enquiries please contact ioc2026@corko.net.
Junior Team Selections 2026
The following team selections have been made for this years big summer Orienteering events:
European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC, Slovenia, 25-27 June)
M16
- James Ewart
- Eoin Simpson
- Alec O’Brien
- Marcus Richardson
- Non travelling reserve: Fiarchra Morrish Wheeler
W16
- Eimear Casey
- Aoife Masterson
- Deirbhile Hassett
- Beth Joyce
- Non travelling reserve: Kathleen O’Donnell
M18
- Aidan McKenna
- Liam Casey
- Liam O’Donnell
- Eanna Grennan
- Non travelling reserve: Fionn Buckley
W18
- Ellie Simpson
- Fionnuala Rowe
- Niamh Browne
- Sadhbh Hassett
Junior World Championships (JWOC, Sweden, 29 June -04 July)
M20
- Gerry Browne
- James Hottinger
- Oscar Rowe
W20
- Eve Buckley
Junior European Cup (JEC – Switzerland, 2-4 October)
W20
- Eve Buckley
W18
- Ellie Simpson
M20
- Oscar Rowe
- Gerry Brown
- James Hottinger
M18
- Aidan McKenna
- Liam Casey
Congratulations to those selected, and hard luck to those that missed out. The selectors had a tough job in several classes – but it’s a good indication of the close competition that exists for spaces in those teams which is a great thing for everyone involved – that’s what pushes us all to get better and perform our best. As always, if you’ve missed the nod this time, don’t get too down – there’s always more competition, and the opportunity to come back stronger in the future.
If any of the above are unable to take their place, also please let me know asap – as mentioned, we have alternatives in many classes.
Once again, big thanks to the selectors: Mike, Ruth, Steph and Darren. Really appreciate the effort and diligence they put into the job. They take a lot of time to gather the data from all the selection races, and don’t come to a hasty decision – they genuinely deliberate over the selections for several days, and often meet several times to review.
https://juniors.orienteering.ie/home/news/team-selections-2026
IOC 2026 – Final Bulletin Published
Bulletin #2 – the final bulletin ahead of this weekend’s Irish Orienteering Championships has now been published on the News section of the IOC website: https://ioc.orienteering.ie/irish-orienteering-champs.
Please pay close attention to the transport plan and the course information, as some details have changed since Bulletin #1 was published. In particular, it is important to understand how long it could take to get to the Starts and to allow yourself enough time.
Start times have also been published over at the Fabian4 site. We’ve done our best to honour people’s requests for early / middle / late start times, whilst observing the rules of the competition.
Do contact us at ioc2026@corko.net with any enquiries
You can view your Irish Orienteering Championships 2026 – Middle / Classic entry details (form number 222) using:
https://www.fabian4.co.uk/amend/entry.aspx?EventID=4146&Sec=38837fa0-3d6c-4999-847f-65b003dfbf41
Frank Martindale
Frank Martindale died on 22nd April 2026 in hospital in Cashel, Co.Tipperary. Frank was a former Chairman of IOA and was the person behind Tipperary Orienteers, a club based on his family. Frank produced several O-maps in the Galtees and the Glen of Aherlow. More recently he ran for Southdowns Orienteers in the UK and then with 3ROC.
His daughter, Julie (Cleary), is a former Secretary of IOA and is still very involved in orienteering.
May he rest in peace.
https://rip.ie/death-notice/frank-martindale-tipperary-cashel-628683
The Download April 2026
The April edition of The Download is now available for you to read. Find out what has been happening in orienteering across Ireland:
- our senior and junior squads;
- new Ready To Go Orienteering activity booklet;
- upcoming Irish Orienteering Championships on the Sheep’s Head;
- focused Local Sport Partnership – Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership;
- and much more………………
https://www.orienteering.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/The-Download-April-2026.pdf
IOC 2026 – Bulletin #1
Bulletin #1 has now been published on the News section of the IOC website: https://ioc.orienteering.ie/irish-orienteering-champs.
The purpose of this document is to help you plan your weekend on the Sheep’s Head, appreciate the layout of the Peninsula and understand the transport and travel plans for each day. More detailed course information will appear in Bulletin #2, which will be the Final Information, to be published the last week of April.
If you have any friends or club-mates who have yet to enter, last-minute individual entries for the Middle and Classic races will remain open until 23:59 on Monday 13th April. Relay entries remain open until 23:59 on Friday 17th April. Check out Fabian4.co.uk, and contact ioc2026@corko.net with any enquiries.
IOC2026 Entry Deadline Approaching
Just one week remains to enter the Middle and Classic races at this year’s Irish Orienteering Championships!
Check out https://ioc.orienteering.ie/irish-orienteering-champs for further details.
Individual entries will close at 23:59 on Monday 13th April. Late entries will not be accepted. The deadline for registering Relay teams is 23:59 on Friday 17th April.
Don’t miss out! Over 300 people have already entered, and with 2 brand new maps, it is shaping up to be an epic weekend of memorable orienteering on the beautiful Sheep’s Head peninsula.
Route To The Title
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to hear from Sprint Orienteering Championship winners Josh O’Sullivan Hourihan and Clodagh Moran!
Friday, 27th March at 8:00 PM
Josh and Clodagh will be hosting a live webinar where they will break down how they secured their wins, sharing insights into their route choices and strategies from Saturday’s championship.
Whether you’re new to orienteering or looking to sharpen your competitive edge, this session is open to all and promises valuable takeaways!
To attend, email Niamh at elite@orienteering.ie
Don’t miss out, see you there!
