Oisin representing Ireland in slalom

There's great excitement in Kilcullen Canoe Club with the news that one of their younger members will be on the team representing Ireland in the Junior World Canoe Slalom Championships this summer, writes Brian Byrne.

It's all the more interesting because 15-year-old Oisin Farrell has only been slaloming for six months, and it is the first time the club has had a world level slalom paddler.

He's training with the Irish Junior Squad at the moment, and showing serious prowess in very rough water, according to veteran member of the club Jock Kelly.

"He was spotted by the Irish selectors when we ran a couple of slalom events here," adds Maureen Barker, another longtime paddler with Kilcullen, which can make an argument to being the first canoe club in Ireland and which today has more than 130 members, many of them family groups. "He then competed in a selection event in Scotland, where he came third."

Oisin only began paddling about two years ago, and got into racing quite quickly, getting involved in marathons, 5K and 10K events. After a Wild Water Development day last October he became interested in slalom. "At Christmas I got my first slalom boat, and found that I really liked it," he says. "It's a discipline where you have to be pinpoint perfect or you can rack up penalty points very quickly."

Especially at his stage of development in the sport, a competitor can feel under pressure when working towards world level. But Oisin says you need to 'zone out' the pressure to be successful. "Otherwise, even if you are a super paddler, it can mess up your mind and you'll do badly."

For the Farrells it's a family affair, led by Oisin's mum Sonya and including his younger brother Donncha (8) and sister Ciara (12). Their dad Ciaran is also heavily involved on the logistics side, ferrying the paddlers thither and yon. At the moment Oisin is training seven days a week, in Kilcullen and in Dublin, so there's a serious amount of transporting involved.

The World Championships are being held in Wisconsin in July, and Oisin is competing in the K1 Mens U/18 category.

Oisin goes to school at Gaelcholaiste Chill Dara in Naas.

This is the full version of the story, which was first published in The Kildare Nationalist's Kilcullen page.