Dunshaughlin brothers making a splash on the swimming scene

Three Dunshaughlin boys are taking Meath swimming by storm with one even aspiring to compete in the 2032 Brisbane Summer Olympics.

Twin brothers Rhys and Dylan (10), and their younger brother Aaron (9), who attend St Seachnall’s National School have been swimming competitively over the past year and have already made an impact.

The three brothers are with Coolmine Swimming Club, Dublin, and all the brothers have won several medals from a range of competitions.

Aaron most recently won gold in the Community Games Meath Swimming finals that took place in Kells and will now go on to represent Meath in the National Finals in Kilkenny in July.

Proud mother, Louise Collins, previously swam competitively much like the rest of her family in the same Coolmine Swimming Club.

She competed from when she was four years old and competed in the National Championships several times and earned her place as a Leinster champion. She also swam in competitions in Sheffield and Leeds in the UK and Stuttgart in Germany.

She started teaching the boys to swim from an early age, with the pandemic interrupting matters. “I used to just teach them myself when we went on holiday and stuff and eventually got them into the lessons and it kind of went from there.”

Their father has no experience with swimming but puts in his own share of support the boys by bringing them to their training sessions.

Aaron was the first of his brothers to start and made a splash in one of his first competitions in January where he qualified for the Irish Minor Schools Championships in Dublin’s National Aquatic Centre and finished 13th overall.

His most recent achievement was earning gold in the Community Games swimming finals in Kells on 6th April.

“Before I won this gold I kept on thinking, every single morning before, ‘I am going to get gold’,” said Aaron. His next goal is the national finals which will take place in Kilkenny in July while his long-term goal is to compete in the 2032 Brisbane Summer Olympics when he is 17.

Rhys treats swimming more as a hobby, but still has a few medals to show for himself. His twin brother Dylan prefers to compete in long distance swimming competitions including the summer festival which will take place next June at the National Aquatic Centre.