water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin north dublin water polo
north dublin water polo
north dublin water polo
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin
water polo dublin

​It's In The Name
​
North Dublin Winter Swimming Club was founded in 1929. The club originated from the old Clontarf Baths in Dublin. The club's name was derived from the fact that the club has held an annual swim on Christmas morning since its conception. These swims were not the common jump in/jump out that you see today. They were in fact ran as races. These races still run today although they are swam in the confines of a swimming pool before Christmas day. However, the Christmas morning swim is still an important tradition to the North Dublin family and takes place every year at an agreed location.

The club is widely renowned for its crest. The crest of course is the distinctive skull and crossbones design (also known as the "Jolly Roger"). The design has varied slightly over the years but has always been a key part of the clubs identity over the years.



The Golden Years
​
The club has a very prestigious history in terms of water polo. It has produced countless league and cup winning teams across all of the competitions in the country. The clubs most successful period came between the early 1990's and 2004. In this time the Senior team won countless National League, Leinster League, Leinster Senior Cup titles. However, the biggest success of all during this period was the club winning its 1st and only Irish Senior Cup in 1994.

Before this period the Senior team was made up of young players with a lot of potential. The squad included future Irish internationals such as Mick Cope, Paul Mcmenamin, Gerard and Derek Wilkes and Paul Morris to name but a few. There were so some experienced players there such as Dave McLoughlin and Paul Byrne.



The team yo-yo ed from Division 1 to Division 2 during the late 1980's as the young team was developing into the trophy winning machine that it would become. As the team became more established in 1st Division, former player Kevin Byrne took charge of the team. This was to prove a very wise appointment.

Kevin was highly respected by his squad and it was under his tutelage that the club once again became successful. They won Leinster Leagues, National Leagues and Leinster Senior Cups but the biggest prize still evaded them. That was all to change in 1994.

When the Irish Senior Cup arrived at Leisure Land in Galway in 1994, so did North Dublin's finest hour. The team produced when it really mattered and beat Half Moon in a close run final. It was a tournament to remember with North Dublin's goal keeper and future coach, Mick Cope, winning player of the tournament. It was a proud day for the club as captain Paul Reeves became the first and only North Dublin captain to lift the prestigious trophy.
The club would go on to win plenty more League and Leinster Cups under Kevin as well as other coaches, including the late Arthur Dunne, during this period. However, the Irish Senior Cup has not been won by the club since, although the team that won it finished runners up on quite a number of occassions.
Rebuilding Process
​
The years following the break up of the Senior Cup winning squad were difficult ones for the team. Fighting it out in a couple of relegation battles in the 1st Division. The team was once again in the process of blooding a new group of players. Players such as Paul McMenamin and Karl Wilkes had been around during the clubs most successful period and the likes of Stevie and Barry Nolan, Stephen O'Brien and Brendan Cope were coming through towards the end of this period also and had begun to establish themselves as first team regulars by this time.

The young players coming through showed a lot of promise early on with a number of the players winning the Under 16's Irish Cup in 2003. The players to come through from this team included Stevie Nolan, Keith Nolan, Brendan Cope, Jamie Cope, Alan Cooke, Gavin Nolan and James Spicer.

Former first team goalkeeper Mick Cope took the reigns in 2006. After a few relegation battles, the lads finally delivered on some of the promise by winning the Leinster Senior Cup in 2008, the clubs first piece of silverware in four years. This season was also the first time in 4 four years that the team had achieved a top four finish as well as reaching the semi finals of the Irish Senior Cup.

The years that followed were met by the team finishing just outside the top four. A runners up medal in the 2009 Leinster Senior Cup was followed by another triumph is 2010. 2011/12 brought the clubs first Leinster League Division 1 title in over 6 years. The 2011/12 season was when the team finally showed what a true force they could be when they upset the apple cart and very nearly won the National League only to be pipped on the final day by St. Vincent's who won the League by a point.
The 2012/13 season saw much of the same from the Seniors as they were pipped to 2nd spot by St. Vincent's on goal difference. They also managed to reach the semi finals of the Irish Senior Cup only to lose out to the eventual winners Half Moon. Despite this the lads did managed to pick up another Leinster Senior Cup to go with their Camlough Cup which was picked up at the beginning of the season.The Camlough Cup being the teams second triumph in 3 years. This season finished with a hint of sadness as coach Mick Cope stepped down after 7 years at the helm.
The future looks bright and hopefully between the current Senior Team and the Juniors coming through the proud history of the club can be maintained and expanded upon.
2008 Leinster Senior Cup winning team
2012 Leinster Senior Cup winning team
History

​It's In The Name
​
North Dublin Winter Swimming Club was founded in 1929. The club originated from the old Clontarf Baths in Dublin. The club's name was derived from the fact that the club has held an annual swim on Christmas morning since its conception. These swims were not the common jump in/jump out that you see today. They were in fact ran as races. These races still run today although they are swam in the confines of a swimming pool before Christmas day. However, the Christmas morning swim is still an important tradition to the North Dublin family and takes place every year at an agreed location.

The club is widely renowned for its crest. The crest of course is the distinctive skull and crossbones design (also known as the "Jolly Roger"). The design has varied slightly over the years but has always been a key part of the clubs identity over the years.



The Golden Years
​
The club has a very prestigious history in terms of water polo. It has produced countless league and cup winning teams across all of the competitions in the country. The clubs most successful period came between the early 1990's and 2004. In this time the Senior team won countless National League, Leinster League, Leinster Senior Cup titles. However, the biggest success of all during this period was the club winning its 1st and only Irish Senior Cup in 1994.

Before this period the Senior team was made up of young players with a lot of potential. The squad included future Irish internationals such as Mick Cope, Paul Mcmenamin, Gerard and Derek Wilkes and Paul Morris to name but a few. There were so some experienced players there such as Dave McLoughlin and Paul Byrne.



The team yo-yo ed from Division 1 to Division 2 during the late 1980's as the young team was developing into the trophy winning machine that it would become. As the team became more established in 1st Division, former player Kevin Byrne took charge of the team. This was to prove a very wise appointment.

Kevin was highly respected by his squad and it was under his tutelage that the club once again became successful. They won Leinster Leagues, National Leagues and Leinster Senior Cups but the biggest prize still evaded them. That was all to change in 1994.

When the Irish Senior Cup arrived at Leisure Land in Galway in 1994, so did North Dublin's finest hour. The team produced when it really mattered and beat Half Moon in a close run final. It was a tournament to remember with North Dublin's goal keeper and future coach, Mick Cope, winning player of the tournament. It was a proud day for the club as captain Paul Reeves became the first North Dublin captain to lift the prestigious trophy.
The club would go on to win plenty more League and Leinster Cups under Kevin as well as other coaches, including the late Arthur Dunne, during this period. However, the Irish Senior Cup would evade the club for some time since this triumph, although the team that won it in 1994 finished runners up on quite a number of occassions.
North Dublin Members in Clontarf Baths in 1984
Leinster Senior Cup Winning Team 1949/50
1994 Irish Senior Cup winning team
Back Row (L-R): M. Cope, J. Wood, D. McLoughlin, G. Wilkes, P. Morris, P. McMenemin, D. Wilkes, K. Byrne (Coach)
Front Row (L-R): S. Cope, J. Doyle, P. Reeves (Captain), P. Byrne, G. Reeves, M. Reilly
Rebuilding Process
​
The years following the break up of the Senior Cup winning squad were difficult ones for the team. Fighting it out in a couple of relegation battles in the 1st Division. The team was once again in the process of blooding a new group of players. Players such as Paul McMenamin and Karl Wilkes had been around during the clubs most successful period and the likes of Stevie and Barry Nolan, Stephen O'Brien and Brendan Cope were coming through towards the end of this period also and had begun to establish themselves as first team regulars by this time.

The young players coming through showed a lot of promise early on with a number of the players winning the Under 16's Irish Cup in 2003. The players to come through from this team included Stevie Nolan, Keith Nolan, Brendan Cope, Jamie Cope, Alan Cooke, Gavin Nolan and James Spicer.

Former first team goalkeeper Mick Cope took the reigns in 2006. After a few relegation battles, the lads finally delivered on some of the promise by winning the Leinster Senior Cup in 2008, the clubs first piece of silverware in four years. This season was also the first time in 4 four years that the team had achieved a top four finish as well as reaching the semi finals of the Irish Senior Cup.

The years that followed were met by the team finishing just outside the top four. A runners up medal in the 2009 Leinster Senior Cup was followed by another triumph is 2010. 2011/12 brought the clubs first Leinster League Division 1 title in over 6 years. The 2011/12 season was when the team finally showed what a true force they could be when they upset the apple cart and very nearly won the National League only to be pipped on the final day by St. Vincent's who won the League by a point.
The 2012/13 season saw much of the same from the Seniors as they were pipped to 2nd spot by St. Vincent's on goal difference. They also managed to reach the semi finals of the Irish Senior Cup only to lose out to the eventual winners Half Moon. Despite this the lads did managed to pick up another Leinster Senior Cup to go with their Camlough Cup which was picked up at the beginning of the season.The Camlough Cup being the teams second triumph in 3 years. This season finished with a hint of sadness as coach Mick Cope stepped down after 7 years at the helm.
2008 Leinster Senior Cup winning team
2012 Leinster Senior Cup winning team
2012/13 Irish Senior Cup Team
Working Towards the Future
​
The 2013/2014 Season saw Stevie Nolan step in as Player/Manager. The League campaign was nothing to write home about but the Irish Senior Cup saw the lads show a real glimpse of what they had in them. Two wins and a loss in the group stages saw them take their berth in the semi finals against Half Moon. Unfortunately it wasn't to be as a bad 1st quarter cost the lads. Not a bad showing considering Half Moon would go on to win the tournament.
Former coach and Irish Senior Cup winner with North Dublin, Dave McLoughlin, took over for the 2014/15 season. Despite some vast improvements in fitness levels and the overall game of the team, results just weren't coming. Dave decided to focus on the Leinster Junior teams, who he was also coaching, and he stepped away from the North Dublin Senior Team.
This opened the door for a forgotten man in water polo, Sean Kenna. Sean previously coached St. Vincents and was involved in the coaching staff that won the League and Irish Senior Cup in 2013. Sean would leave St. Vincents the following season after a semi final exit in the Irish Senior Cup. Sean had built a solid relationship with a number of North Dublin players and club members over the years and he felt that this was a project worth taking on. The 2015/16 season was one that had mixed results. The National League results were not what they needed to be but they weren't miles away. A Leinster League win was nearly accompanied by a Leinster Cup but a loss in the Final prevented that. The Irish Senior Cup ended in a Group Stage exit but it was to the eventual finalists St. Vincents and Sandycove. This was a building progress and the lads were all on board.
The 2016/17 season saw much of the same in terms of League results but the lads never lost sight of their goals and kept the work rate up throughout the year. Including Division 2 and 3 players along with Juniors in the sessions allowed the lads to train to their fullest and it would pay off in a huge way. The 2017 Irish Senior Cup was held in Bangor, the venue where the lads last made the semi finals in 2014. The withdrawl of Setanta meant a 3 team group of death for North Dublin against Half Moon and St. Vincents. A win against Half Moon and a loss against Vincents saw our lads through to the semis where they beat one of the favourites, Cathal Brugha. A first final in 14 years against a team that had heavily beaten our lads the day before and were undefeated in over a year. But this was a final and it meant everything to Sean and the lads. A tremendous 7-5 win saw our lads lift the Irish Senior Cup for the first time in 23 years and only the second time in the history of the club. What an achievement it was too. The underdogs prevailed and in some style.
The future looks bright and hopefully between the current Senior Team and the Juniors coming through the proud history of the club can be maintained and expanded upon.
2017 Irish Senior Cup winning team
Back Row (L-R): T. Reeves (Team Manager), K. Wilkes, P. McMenamin, J. Cope, D. Sadlier, M. Cope (Assistant Coach/Sub Goalie)
Middle Row (L-R): A. McLoughlin, Sean Kenna (Coach), J. Mangan (Co-Captain), G. O'Neill (IWPA President), B. Nolan, B. Cope, G. Nolan, J. Prudnikovas
Front Row (L-R): L. Vuksic, S. Nolan (Co-Captain), S. O'Brien, M. O'Kane
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