Young Sailor Brady is a World Topper
By Thomas Conway
Sporting talent passes down through generations, often in curious ways.
Most Tipperary people will be familiar with the exploits of serial All-Ireland winner and all-time legend Donie Nealon. What they may not know is that his granddaughter Gemma Brady is now making her name in a different sporting code, Sailing.
Brady is only thirteen years of age, but she might just be the next teenage prodigy that Irish sailing has been seeking following another creditable performance from Irish sailors at the Olympic Games but unfortunately no medals were secured.
However, it’s the perfect time for the sport to shine, and Brady, a proud member of Lough Derg Yacht Club (LDYC) in Dromineer, has been shining brightly of late.
A couple of weeks ago, the young Newtown teenager won the Topper Class at the World Championships in Murcia, Spain. It was an extraordinary achievement for a girl so young, a display of soaring individual talent that attracted tributes from various people involved in LYDC and Irish Sailing as a whole.
She already has a broad fanbase, but her most devoted follower is of course, her grandfather. Donie Nealon knows what it's like to compete in the white-hot atmosphere of an All-Ireland final, he knows the dedication and commitment required to excel in sport at the highest level, and after many years of performing himself, he is now watching his granddaughter flourish on an entirely different stage to the one he made his name on.
Gemma Brady wasn’t the only LYDC member proudly representing her club at these World Championships. Along with her, fellow club members Max Swan and Grace Keating also excelled, each of them qualifying for the prestigious gold fleet - a reflection perhaps, of the strength in depth of LYDC’s younger sailors and the popularity of the sport at youth level locally.
But Gemma Brady really is the main story here. As well as her World Championship crown, the thirteen-year-old is also Irish Youth National Lady Topper champion, a serious achievement for an individual so young.
Of course, she wouldn’t be the first sailor from LYDC to thrive on the national and international stage. Brady is effectively following in the footsteps of one Aisling Keller, who rose to the cusp of almost securing an Olympic berth just a couple of years ago. Keller’s success has inspired a younger cohort of sailors from within LYDC in recent years, Gemma Brady among them, and the Newtown girl undoubtedly harbours dreams of perhaps one day competing at an Olympic Games, and maybe even securing a medal, just like Annalise Murphy in Rio 2016.
That, for now, is still a distant prospect, but Gemma Brady’s progression in the coming years will be key. What she has achieved thus far in her short career is outstanding, but the Newtown prodigy - currently enjoying some down time from the sport following her endeavours in Spain - has it all ahead of her.
Sailing is not an easy sport to make it in, particularly at international level, but Gemma it seems is already exceeding all expectations. The future for her, and indeed Irish sailing, is unquestionably bright.