Mayo teenager scoops national sailing award

A Mayo teenager was amongst those who received an award in Mansion House, Dublin at Sail Training Ireland’s annual awards.

The ceremony, which was held on Saturday, awarded Westport teen Conor Moran for the help which he gave to his fellow sailors during their voyage.

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Conor was nominated to participate in the voyage through his local Foroige youth group.

According to the group, Conor’s teamwork and maturity when aboard, as well as the marked development, led him to be a prime candidate for the accolade.

“This is in recognition of his outstanding help he gave mentors with his peers while on the voyage,” they stated. “We were pleasantly surprised to see a young man of his years display this level of maturity.”

“We found he grew from being a very shy person to a much more confident young man by the end of the week.”

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Conor was one of over 350 teenagers who joined the group in 2024 as they embarked on six different tall ships.

Sail Training Ireland is an organisation which aims to help those from groups including those in residential care homes, Garda diversion projects, drug rehabilitation programmes, and youth and community groups.

Asylum seekers and those with visual, hearing, and physical impairments are also among those who they try to help.