O.N.A.K.A.I.
NGB for Karate in Ireland
NGB for Karate in Ireland
SCHEDULE Friday 11th September 16:00 to 20:00 - Registration & Weigh-In at the arena. Saturday 12th September Cadet, Junior & Senior 09:00 to 12:30 - Individual & Team Kata, (approx.) 12:30 to 19:00 - Individual & Team Kumite (approx.) 19:00 to 20:00 Individual Finals for 12 Senior Categories (approx.) In the individual Kata & Kumite finals on Saturday for the 12 Senior Categories ONLY, Coaches are required to wear a dark suit, shirt and tie, while female coaches may choose to wear a dress, pantsuit or a combination of jacket and skirt in dark colours. Sunday 13th September Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Para, Veterans. 09:00 to 12:00 - Individual Kata & Team Kata, 12:00 to 17:00 - Individual Kumite &Team Kumite The exact timetable will be published nearer the event. 📅 Date: Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of September 2026. ⏰ Time: All day. 📍 Venue: Sport Ireland Indoor Arena, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. D15 EPN4
Last month our Senior Squad travelled to Frankfurt for the Senior European Karate Championships. A huge thank you to Senior National Coach Tony Kelly for his guidance and support throughout the competition. At this level, the margins are incredibly fine, and every athlete who stepped onto the tatami should be proud of representing their country and testing themselves against Europe’s best. There were some excellent performances and strong fights throughout the event, with Lucy Mulhern progressing through one round and Dean O’Mahony advancing through two rounds. Experiences like this are all part of the journey, and the squad will take valuable lessons and motivation forward from the championships. Well done to all of the team that travelled
Last month we were delighted to welcome Carla Burkett for a series of outstanding seminars as part of our Women in Sport initiative. The sessions provided an excellent environment for our athletes to challenge themselves, grow in confidence, and further develop their technical and competitive skills both on and off the tatami. Carla brought tremendous energy, experience, and insight to every session, making a hugely positive impact on everyone involved. These seminars strongly reflected the key pillars of Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport programme — encouraging active participation, increasing the visibility of female role models within karate, supporting the development of female coaching and athlete pathways, and helping to build future leadership within the sport. A huge thank you to Carla for sharing her time, knowledge, and passion with our athletes. The feedback from all involved has been extremely positive, and we look forward to continuing to build on initiatives like this in the future. Lastly, a huge thank you to our Women in Sport team for the tremendous amount of work and organisation that went into delivering these seminars.
The National Kata Championships for Under 14 competitors will take place on Sunday, 4 October. Registration closes on Sunday, 27 September, so please ensure your entry is submitted before the deadline. Registration online through Sportdata.
First Aid Training Ballinasloe, Galway WGuardian Girls Karate Ireland reaches all four provinces. We are delighted to announce that @guardiangirlskarate has officially launched in Munster. This marks another important milestone in the expansion of the programme across the island of Ireland with programmes now being delivered to young girls and women across all four provinces. A huge well done to our GGK certified instructor Rebecca Hisatugo of @fhkarateteam for delivering a five week programme to young girls at Douglas Rochestown Educate Together, Co. Cork . Through her instruction Rebecca is providing participants with the opportunity to learn the practical skills of self-defence while enhancing their confidence in a safe and welcoming environment. We are continuing to work hard to expand delivery of the programme across the island of Ireland. If you would like further information on GGK Ireland or would like to get involved, either as a participant or future instructor, then please get in touch at ggk@onakai.ie As always thank you to @SportIreland for their continued support of the programme .
