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Northern Ireland at the 2026 Commonwealth Games
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Northern Ireland will compete at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow between 23 July and 2 August 2026.[1][2][3] It will be Northern Ireland's twenty-first appearance.
| Northern Ireland at the 2026 Commonwealth Games | |
|---|---|
| |
| CG code | NIR |
| CGA | Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council |
| Website | www |
| in Glasgow, Scotland 23 July 2026 – 2 August 2026 | |
| Competitors | 65 in 8 sports |
| Flag bearer (opening) | Gary Kelly |
| Baton bearer | Bethany Firth |
| Flag bearer (closing) | Adam McKeown |
| Medals Ranked 12th |
|
| Commonwealth Games appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Ireland (1930) | |
The team from Northern Ireland consisted of 65 athletes.[4] Bowler Gary Kelly was the country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony.[5] Meanwhile, para swimmer Bethany Firth was the baton bearer during the opening ceremony.[5]
Competitors
The following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artistic gymnastics | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Athletics | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Bowls | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Boxing | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Judo | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Netball | N/a | 12 | 12 |
| Swimming | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Track cycling | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Weightlifting | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 29 | 36 | 65 |
Medalists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gold |
Kate O'Connor | Athletics | Women's heptathlon | 29 July |
| Gold |
John McConnell | Boxing | Men's 70 kg | 1 August |
| Gold |
Gary Kelly Adam McKeown |
Bowls | Men's pairs | 2 August |
 Silver |
Barry McClements | Swimming | Men's 100 metre backstroke S9 | 26 July |
| Silver |
Daniel Wiffen | Swimming | Men's 1500 metre freestyle | 29 July |
| Silver |
Michaela Walsh | Boxing | Women's 57kg | 1 August |
| Silver |
Kaci Rock | Boxing | Women's 65kg | 1 August |
 Bronze |
Bethany Firth | Swimming | Women's 200 metre freestyle S14 | 25 July |
| Bronze |
Chloe Wilson Shauna O'Neill |
Bowls | Women's pairs | 28 July |
| Bronze |
Gary Kelly | Bowls | Men's singles | 28 July |
| Bronze |
Ellie McCartney | Swimming | Women's 200 metre breaststroke | 29 July |
| Bronze |
Willie John McCartan | Boxing | Men's +90 kg | 31 July |
| Bronze |
Garyn McAllister | Boxing | Men's 90 kg | 31 July |
| Bronze |
Jude Gallagher | Boxing | Men's 60kg | 31 July |
| Bronze |
Rachael Hawkes | Judo | Women's 70kg | 1 August |
| Bronze |
Joshua Green | Judo | Men's 73kg | 1 August |
Athletics
Men
- Track events
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| James Gormley | Mile | ||||||
| Nick Griggs | |||||||
| 5000 metres | |||||||
| Callum Morgan | |||||||
Women
- Track events
| Athlete | Event | Semifinal | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Eva Walsh Dann | 100 metres (T38) | 14.18 | 5 | Did not advance | |
- Field events
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Rank | Distance | Rank | ||
| Eva Walsh Dann | Long jump (T38) | ||||
- Combined events – Heptathlon
| Athlete | Event | 100H | HJ | SP | 200 m | LJ | JT | 800 m | Final | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kate O'Connor | Heptathlon | | ||||||||
| Anna McCauley | 8 | |||||||||
Boxing
Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland announced a team of twelve boxers for the Games on 11 May 2026.[6]
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Louis Rooney | 55 kg |  Seholoholo (LES)L KO |
Did not advance | ||||
| Jude Gallagher | 60 kg | bye |  Ullah (PAK)W 4–0 |
 Albert Ngulube (ZAM)W 3–2 |
 Tryagain Ndevelo (NAM)L 2–3 |
— | |
| John Paul Hale | 65 kg | bye |  Mughalzai (ENG)L 0–5 |
Did not advance | |||
| Jon McConnell | 70 kg | bye |  Sumit (IND)W 4–1 |
 Carl Hield (BAH)W WO |
 Sonny Kerr (SCO)W 5–0 |
 Orlando Holley-Sotomi (WAL)– |
|
| Eoghan Quinn | 80 kg | bye |  Micock (SEY)L 1–4 |
Did not advance | |||
| Garyn McAllister | 90 kg | — | bye |  Muntari (GHA)W 5–0 |
Connor Williams (WAL) L 0–5 |
— | |
| Willie John McCartan | +90 kg | — | Plange (GHA) W 5–0 |
Damar Thomas (ENG) L WO |
— | | |
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Caitlin Fryers | 51 kg |  Ferdous (BAN)W 5–0 |
Sakshi Chaudhary (IND) L 0–5 |
Did not advance | ||
| Nicole Clyde | 54 kg | Bamfo (GHA) W 5–0 |
Preeti Pawar (IND) L 0–5 |
Did not advance | ||
| Michaela Walsh | 57 kg | bye | Brown (SCO) W 5–0 |
 Jasmine Duamakanakana (FIJ)W 5–0 |
Jaismine Lamboria (IND) – |
|
| Kaci Rock | 65 kg | — |  Pasene (NIU)W 5–0 |
Caitlin Rainey (SCO) W 3–2 |
Sacha Hickey (ENG) – |
|
| Janseen Hill | 70 kg | — | Reid (ENG) L 0–5 |
Did not advance | ||
Bowls
Commonwealth Games NI selected a team of four bowlers for the Games.
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Group Stage | Semifinal | Final / BM | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Rank | Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Rank | ||
| Gary Kelly | Singles |  New Zealand(McIlroy) W 2–0 |
 Tonga(Hill) W 1–1* |
Niue (Tafatu) W 2–0 |
 South Africa(Rittmuller) - |
 Singapore(Yuen) W 2–0 |
 Norfolk Island(Graham) – |
| |||
| Gary Kelly Adam McKeown |
Pairs | Tonga – |
Pakistan – |
New Zealand – |
Fiji – |
 Australia– |
– | ||||
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Group Stage | Semifinal | Final / BM | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Rank | Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Rank | ||
| Shauna O’Neill | Singles | Niue (Ioane) – |
 Botswana(Mooketsi) – |
Singapore (Tiong) – |
New Zealand (Bruce) – |
 Guernsey(Merrien) – |
— | ||||
| Shauna O’Neill Chloe Wilson |
Pairs | Guernsey – |
 Isle of ManW 2–0 |
Australia – |
Zambia – |
Singapore W 2–0 |
Niue W 2–0 |
 MalaysiaL *1–1 |
Wales W 2–0 |
| |
Cycling
Northern Ireland selected a team of five cyclists including one para athlete, all events will take place at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.[7]
Women
- Erin Creighton
- Emma Jeffers
- Esther Wong
Men
- Matthew Dobbins
- Chris Burns (Para Cyclist)
Gymnastics
Northern Ireland selected a team of four gymnasts for Glasgow 2026, but chose not to contest the team event. Chester Enriquez withdrew with injury.[8]
Rhys McClenaghan - Individual Qualification
_-_DSC_0401.jpg)
| Athlete | Event | Apparatus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | PH | R | V | PB | HB | ||
| Rhys McClenaghan | Team | 12.750 R | 14.500 Q | - | - | - | - |
| Eamon Montgomery | 13.000 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Ewan McAteer | - | - | 13.650 Q | - | - | ||
- Pommel horse
| Athlete | Event | Difficulty | Execution | Penalty | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhys McClenaghan | Pommel horse | 5.200 | 7.800 | — | 13.000 | 6 |
- Vault
| Athlete | Event | Vault 1 | Vault 2 | Total | Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Execution | Penalty | Difficulty | Execution | Penalty | ||||
| Ewan McAteer | Vault | 4.800 | 8.200 | –0.300 | 4.400 | 8.500 | –0.100 | 13.650 | 7 |
Judo
Team Northern Ireland will send a team of 3 judoka they announced their team on 20 June 2026.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final/BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Opposition
Result |
Rank | ||
| Rachael Hawkes | Women's 70 kg | — | bye | de Villiers (NZL) |
||||
| Joshua Green | Men's 73 kg | bye | ||||||
| Adam Hall | Men's +100 kg | — | ||||||
Netball
Northern Ireland qualified as one of the top 11 eligible teams in the World Netball Rankings as of September 1, 2025.[9]
- Roster
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Michelle Magee (Captain) | Birmingham Panthers |
| Caroline O'Hanlon (VC) |  Larkfield |
| Emma Magee | The Downs Netball Club |
| Evelyn McCagherty | Nottingham Forest |
| Fionnuala Toner | Belfast Ladies Netball Club |
| Frances Keenan | Belfast Ladies Netball Club |
| Georgie McGrath | Kingsway |
| Lauren Walshe | Belfast Ladies Netball Club |
| Lisa Bowman | Larkfield |
| Maria McCann | Belfast Ladies Netball Club |
| Niamh Cooper | Nottingham Forest |
| Orlaith Rogers | Leeds Rhinos |
Reserves: Ciara Crosbie, Lisa Carlin, Rachel Duckers & Orla McGeough
- Summary
| Team | Event | Group stage | Semifinal | Final / BM / Cl. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Northern Ireland | Women's tournament | England L 34-83 |
 Australia |
 Malawi |
Tonga |
South Africa |
||||
- Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 378 | 191 | +187 | 10 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | England |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 355 | 224 | +131 | 8 | |
| 3 | South Africa |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 340 | 231 | +109 | 6 | Classification matches |
| 4 | Malawi |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 233 | 303 | −70 | 4 | |
| 5 | Tonga |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 219 | 396 | −177 | 2 | |
| 6 | Northern Ireland |
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 191 | 371 | −180 | 0 |
| 25 July 2026 14:00 |
Report | England | 83–34 | Northern Ireland |
OVO Hydro Umpires: Justin Barnes, Kristie Simpson Reserve umpire: Tracy-Ann Griffiths | |
| Scoring by quarter: 24–7, 17–11, 19–8, 23–8 | ||||||
Eleanor Cardwell  36/38 (95%)Olivia Tchine 25/26 (96%)Sasha Glasgow 12/12 (100%)Lois Pearson 4/5 (80%)Ella Clark 6/8 (75%) |
Lisa Bowman 24/28 (86%) Orlaith Rogers 7/9 (78%)Emma Magee 3/4 (75%)Georgie McGrath 0/2 (0%) | |||||
| 26 July 2026 14:00 |
Report | Malawi | 64–48 | Northern Ireland |
OVO Hydro Umpires: Tania Fink, Gary Burgess Reserve umpire: Kristie Simpson | |
| Scoring by quarter: 19–9, 16–14, 9–15, 20–10 | ||||||
| Mwai Kumwenda 57/58 (98%) Ethel Ng'ambi 7/7 (100%) |
Lisa Bowman 30/34 (88%) Orlaith Rogers 15/19 (79%)Emma Magee 3/4 (75%) | |||||
| 27 July 2026 16:00 |
Report | Tonga | 58–52 | Northern Ireland |
OVO Hydro Umpires: Kate Mann, Tracy-Ann Griffiths Reserve umpire: Bronwen Adams | |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–11, 16–15, 14–11, 15–15 | ||||||
| Uneeq Palavi 49/50 (98%) Marie Payn 7/7 (100%)Sovika Pousini 2/4 (50%) |
Lisa Bowman 32/41 (78%) Emma Magee 9/13 (69%)Georgie McGraith 8/11 (73%)Orlaith Rogers 3/3 (100%) | |||||
| 28 July 2026 14:00 |
Report | South Africa | 78–30 | Northern Ireland |
OVO Hydro Umpires: Georgina Sulley-Beales, Kate Mann Reserve umpire: Ken Metekingi | |
| Scoring by quarter: 14–8, 18–10, 21–4, 25–8 | ||||||
| Elmeré van der Berg 39/42 (93%) Rolene Streutker 25/28 (89%)Kamogelo Maseko 11/11 (100%)Sammy Ngubane 3/4 (75%) |
Lisa Bowman 17/24 (71%) Orlaith Rogers 8/10 (80%)Emma Magee 5/8 (63%) | |||||
| 30 July 2026 16:00 |
Report | Australia | 88–27 | Northern Ireland |
OVO Hydro Umpires: Gary Burgess, Angela Armstrong-Lush Reserve umpire: Alison Harrison | |
| Scoring by quarter: 27–6, 20–4, 19–12, 22–5 | ||||||
| Cara Koenen 57/58 (98%) Sophie Garbin 15/15 (100%)Sophie Dwyer 11/11 (100%)Georgie Horjus 5/7 (71%) |
Lisa Bowman 15/18 (83%) Orlaith Rogers 7/10 (70%)Georgie McGrath 3/5 (60%)Emma Magee 2/3 (67%) | |||||
Swimming
Swim Ireland announced the Northern Ireland swimming team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games on 13 May 2026.[10]
Men
_2024.jpg)
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Jack McMillan | 100 m freestyle | 49.51 | 10 Q | 49.13 | 11 | did not advance | |
| 200 m freestyle | 1:46.72 | 5 Q | – | 1:46.29 | 6 | ||
| 400 m freestyle | 3:48.65 | 7 Q | – | 3:49.18 | 7 | ||
| Daniel Wiffen | 400 m freestyle | 3:47.01 | 3 Q | – | 3:47.22 | 5 | |
| 800 m freestyle | – | 7:48.82 | 4 | ||||
| 1500 m freestyle | – | 14:44.70 | | ||||
| Conor Ferguson | 50 m backstroke | 25.48 | 12 Q | 25.85 | 16 | did not advance | |
| Paddy Johnston | 50 m backstroke | 25.38 | 11 Q | 25.63 | 15 | did not advance | |
| Barry McClements | 100 m backstroke S8 | 1:07.30 | 4 Q | – | 1:03.68 | | |
| 100 m butterfly S10 | 1:01.92 | 5 Q | – | 1:01.64 | 6 | ||
| Matthew Hamilton Paddy Johnston Adam Bradley Jack McMillan |
4 x 100 m medley relay | 3:41.06 | 6 Q | — | 3:37.58 | 6 | |
Women
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Danielle Hill | 50 m freestyle | ||||||
| 50 m backstroke | 28.04 | 2 Q | |||||
| 100 m backstroke | 1:01.28 | 8 Q | 1:00.83 | 9 | did not advance | ||
| Grace Davison | 100 m freestyle | ||||||
| 200 m freestyle | – | ||||||
| 100 m backstroke | 1:01.21 | ||||||
| 200 m backstroke | – | ||||||
| Lottie Cullen | 100 m backstroke | ||||||
| 200 m backstroke | – | ||||||
| Ellie McCartney | 100 m breaststroke | ||||||
| 200 m breaststroke | – | ||||||
| 200 m individual medley | – | ||||||
| Bethany Firth | 200 m freestyle S14 | 2:09.96 | 1 Q | — | 2:07.63 | | |
| Alana Burns-Atkin Victoria Catterson Emily Hughes TBC |
4 x 100m medley relay | — | |||||
Weightlifting
On 18 May 2026, the IWF Commonwealth Games weightlifting ranking lists were finalised. The top eight ranked lifters, limited to one per CGA, and not including Scotland (who got automatic host spots) and the directly qualified reigning Commonwealth Weightlifting champions, gained a quota place for the games in their weight class.[11][12]
Northern Ireland qualified four lifters.
| Athlete | Event | Snatch (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Total (kg) | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||||
| Harrison McGrogan | Men's 71 kg | ||||||
| Omar Keshta | Men's +110 kg | ||||||
| Hannah Crymble | Women's 63 kg | ||||||
| Kaitlin Saunders | Women's 77 kg | ||||||
Events not contested
3x3 Basketball
Both men's and women's teams took part in the Home Nations Qualifier alongside England, Wales and the Isle of Man, but both failed to qualify. The men won their first two matches against Wales and the Isle of Man before losing their final group stage game against England and then losing to them again in the final 21-9, while the women lost against both Wales and England while they beat the Isle of Man.
The men's and women's 3x3 squads took part in the IWBF Europe Qualifier in Nottingham in April 2026. The women's team lost both of their games against England and Wales, while the men's team lost to Wales in their semi-final after beating Wales and Cyprus in the group as well as losing to England.